North Korea confirmed through its official news agency (CTAC) that the launch of a continental ballistic missile on Thursday the 16th occurred in response to “provocative and aggressive war games on a large scale by American and South Korean puppets.”

The country has already confirmed the authorship of the rocket launch. Hwaseongpo-17 missile from Pyongyang International Airport just hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were scheduled to meet in Tokyo to improve the difficult relationship between the two countries.

The North Korean nation has now accused South Korea of ​​worsening the “serious situation in the most unstable security environment on the Korean Peninsula“On the occasion of the joint military exercises that Washington and Seoul are holding these days, the longest-running military maneuvers conducted by both countries.

The United States, which on Tuesday condemned this and other recent North Korean launches, reiterated its support for South Korea. In a conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and South Korean First Deputy Foreign Minister Cho Hyung-dong, both countries They condemned the “provocative actions” of the North Korean nation.

In addition, Sherman repeated US “Iron Commitment” with the defense of South Korea.