North Korea says ICBM launch was a ‘warning’

North Korea An intercontinental ballistic missile was fired this week as a warning against US and South Korean military exercises, state media said on Friday.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the missile launched on Thursday was intended to “send a stern warning to enemies who are deliberately escalating tensions”.

US-South Korea drills deter North Korea, Pentagon claims hours after North Korea launches ICBM

It was the second ICBM launched by North Korea this year, and was fired just hours earlier. South Korean President Yoon Seok-yul A meeting was scheduled with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The aggressive escalation calls attention to US messaging on North Korea.

Use of nuclear weapons would be the end of the North Korean regime, Pentagon warns

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with his daughter, inspects an artillery drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Thursday, March 9, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Department of Defense On Thursday, it claimed that its regular joint military exercises with South Korea were continuing to deter North Korean attacks.

“I think what’s important for people to understand is that, one, deterrence continues to work,” Brig. General Pat Ryder told reporters at the Defense Department’s daily press briefing.

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People stand near a television showing news broadcasts with file footage of North Korea’s missile test at a railway station in Seoul on March 14, 2023. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

“Despite launching missiles into the sea, North Korea is not, and should not be, attacking, and that the United States, Japan, South Korea and other allies and partners in the region are committed to increasing this deterrence and maintaining their countries.” Let’s keep working together. Safe,” Ryder said.