SEOUL, Oct. 21 (BNA) The North Korean Foreign Ministry said its recent missile test was not a message directed to the United States.
A ministry spokesman in Pyongyang criticized the reactions of the United Nations Security Council and the United States at all on Tuesday, in a statement reported by the official Central News Agency on Thursday.
The spokesman said the test-fire of the “new type” ballistic missile launched by submarines was part of normal defense science activities.
“Criticizing the DPRK for developing and testing the same weapons system that the United States has or is developing is a clear expression of double standards,” they added. Korea, dpa.
The statement cast doubt on the US government’s recent assertion that it is not hostile to North Korea.
The UN Security Council held a closed-door meeting in New York on Wednesday to discuss the missile test.
Although no joint statement was issued by the 15-member Security Council, European members Ireland, Estonia and France issued a joint statement calling the latest North Korean launch part of a “pattern of provocations”.
They called on Pyongyang to comply with UN sanctions. The US and British envoys expressed the same sentiments.
North Korea’s ballistic missile launch earlier this week was the eighth this year.
The KCNA reported earlier that it was a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile that enhances the country’s defense technology and the navy’s underwater operational capability.
North Korea is under international sanctions because of its nuclear program. United Nations resolutions prohibit the country from testing ballistic missiles. Depending on their design, these missiles can carry nuclear warheads.