North Korea conducts what could be its 6th missile test this month, South Korea says

(CNN) — North Korea fired an unidentified projectile or projectiles into waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Thursday in what, if confirmed, could be its sixth missile test this month, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

North Korea has ramped up its missile tests this month, saying it will bolster its defenses against the United States and evaluate “restarting all temporally suspended activities,” according to North Korea’s state-run news agency KCNA.

Just two days ago, Pyongyang fired what were believed to be cruise missiles into the sea.

On January 17, Pyongyang test-fired “tactical guided missiles,” which are short-range ballistic missiles, KCNA said.

North Korea claimed to have a successfully test-fired hypersonic missiles on January 5 and 11, and then what were presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles from a rail car on January 14.

Pyongyang is barred by international law from developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

After the rail car test, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson admonished the United States for its posture against Pyongyang’s weapons development. “If the US adopts such a confrontational stance, the DPRK will be forced to take stronger and certain reaction to it,” the spokesman said, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In a recent statement carried by KCNA, a spokesperson defended North Korea’s right to bolster its arms, saying its “recent development of new-type weapon was just part of its efforts for modernizing its national defense capability.”

This story was first published on CNN.com, “North Korea conducts what could be its 6th missile test this month, South Korea says”