MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. North Korea said on Saturday that its latest missile launches were carried out in self-defense against direct military threats from the United States, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing North’s official news agency KCNA.

"The missile test launch by the DPRK is a regular and planned self-defensive step for defending the country's security and the regional peace from the US direct military threats that have lasted for more than half a century," the South Korean agency quoted North Korea's National Aviation Administration (NAA) as saying in a statement.

In turn, Reuters quoted KCNA as saying that, according to the North Korean authorities, the missile tests created no security threats for nearby countries and regions.

North Korea test-launched two ballistic missiles on Thursday in the direction of the Sea of Japan. Both missiles were fired within a 15-minute interval. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry described the launches as "just counteraction measures" to the recent joint exercises of the United States and the Republic of Korea.

This was 24th missile test of North Korea since the start of the year with the previous test launch taking place on October 4, when North Korea launched a missile that flew above northern Japan’s Aomori prefecture and fell in the Pacific Ocean outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone. It was the first North Korean missile flying above Japan’s territory since September 2017. The presumed travel distance of the ballistic missile - about 4,600 km - is believed to be the largest in the history of North Korean tests. The missile splashed down about 3,200 km away from the Japanese coast. Shortly after, the United States and South Korea each fired two Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) guided missiles. Washington and Seoul also suggested that North Korea was preparing to hold a nuclear test.