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A news program is running on a TV, reporting on North Korea's missile launch
Photo: Lee Jin-man/AP
North Korea has justified its recent missile launches as a self-defense measure against the US.
A spokesman for the national aviation authority said on Saturday, according to the state news agency KCNA, that the missile tests are a "defense of national security and regional peace from direct US military threats that have persisted for more than half a century".
It was also said that the missile tests would not pose a threat to the immediate neighboring countries in the region.
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North Korea's missile test: How the new provocation from Pyongyang fuels nuclear fearsBy Katharina Graça Peters
Despite strong protests, North Korea has repeatedly fired ballistic missiles in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, the country also had a medium-range missile fly over the Japanese archipelago for the first time in five years.
Meanwhile, the United States deployed its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan to the waters east of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday.
United Nations resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any range, which, depending on the design, can also carry a nuclear warhead.
mar/dpa/Reuters