The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) called a series of missile tests it recently launched a legitimate defense against "U.S. military threats," state media KCNA reported on Saturday citing the country's aviation agency. 

The statement came a day after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted a resolution denouncing the missile tests for posing danger to civil aviation. Pyongyang rejected the resolution as "a political provocation of the U.S. and its vassal forces aimed to infringe upon the sovereignty of the DPRK."

"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 U.S. direct military threats that have lasted for more than half a century," DPRK said without specifying which launch. In the past two weeks, the DPRK has carried out six missile launches, the most arresting being Tuesday's firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan.

It said it had taken the safety of civil aircraft into full consideration, "so it didn't pose any threat and harm to the safety of not only civil aviation but also the neighboring countries and region."

The U.S. has slapped more sanctions on the DPRK and ramped up joint military drills with Japan and the Republic of Korea in recent weeks.

(Cover: This handout photo taken on October 5, 2022, and released by the ROK's Defense Ministry in Seoul, shows the Army Tactical Missile System firing a missile from an undisclosed location on the ROK's east coast during a ROK-U.S. joint live-fire exercise aimed to counter the DPRK's missile test.)