The United States strongly condemned Saturday the firing by North Korea of an “intercontinental ballistic missile” (ICBM).
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“This firing unnecessarily escalates tensions and risks destabilizing security in the region,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
Saturday’s firing, Pyongyang’s first in seven weeks, comes as Washington and Seoul prepare to conduct a joint military simulation exercise.
“It constitutes a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” said the American official.
According to Tokyo, the missile would have damaged in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Japan.
Military tensions rose on the Korean peninsula in 2022, when Pyongyang called its status as a nuclear power “irreversible” and conducted a record series of weapons tests, including ICBMs.