North Korea has condemned the recent test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the United States that was observed by a South Korean defense delegation.
North Korea's state-run news agency on Friday released a military commentator's statement about the launch of the Minuteman III missile. The US conducted the test on Tuesday at a base in California.
South Korean defense officials were observing during their first such visit in seven years. The country's defense ministry says the officials confirmed the validity of the US extended deterrence commitment aiming at defending its allies with nuclear weapons and other capabilities.
The North Korean commentator's statement described such recent US and South Korean military activities as "extremely provocative and reckless hostile acts that unilaterally escalate the military tension in the Korean Peninsula."
It said the North's military stance "to respond to the nukes in kind is immutable." It stressed that Pyongyang will continue its military action to bolster the deterrence in the Korean Peninsula and the region.
North Korea has used state-run media to slam other recent military moves between the US and South Korea. They include a port call by a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier at a South Korean port and the deployment in the country of a strategic bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons.