North Korea hits back at US criticism after missile testing

Seoul - Pyongyang' truly concerned' by 'abnormal' reaction from White House, says government spokesperson

North Korea hit back at US criticism over its test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile this week, saying it was rightfully exercising its rights for self-defense and that the weapon doesn't specifically target the United States.

The comments by an unidentified spokesperson of the North's Foreign Ministry on Thursday came as the UN Security Council was set to hold an emergency closed-door meeting over the launch at the request of the United States and the United Kingdom.

Tuesday's launch of a new ballistic missile from a submarine was the North's first test of such weaponry in two years and the most significant demonstration of its military might since President Joe Biden took office.

Washington condemned the launch, which underscored how the North continues to expand its military capabilities amid a freeze in nuclear diplomacy, and called for Pyongyang to "engage in sustained and substantive dialogue."

In comments published by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean spokesperson said its recent test posed no immediate threat to neighbouring countries and that there was no need for Washington to agonize over a weapon that doesn't specifically target the United States.

The spokesperson said Pyongyang is "truly concerned" over what it sees as an "abnormal" reaction by the United States over a rightful exercise of its rights to defence and described Washington's efforts to set up the UN Security Council meeting as a "provocative move."

"When doing the recent test-firing, we did not have the US in mind nor aimed at it, but it is the work which had already been planned purely for the defence of the country," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson noted that the United States already possesses submarine-launched ballistic missile systems and said it was exposing its double standards by criticizing the North for pursuing the same weaponry. That only raises the North's suspicions about the sincerity of the Biden administration's statements that it harbors no hostility toward the North, the spokesperson said.

Ending a months-long lull in September, North Korea has been ramping up its weapons tests while making conditional peace offers to Seoul, reviving a pattern of pressuring South Korea to try to get what it wants from the United States.