In a statement released on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry informed that the recent launch of a reconnaissance satellite into orbit by the DPRK is an indispensable process to build national defense power and a new phase in the military activities of the armed forces, whose aim is to ensure the security environment of the Korean peninsula.

The United States violated sovereignty and hastily imposed sanctions along with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and other allies after accusing the DPRK of “exercising its just, legal, and sovereign rights,” the text stated.

The Ministry stressed that Washington’s unilateral and illegal sanctions seriously violate the United Nations Charter and are the main factor that is destroying the international order based on fairness and multilateralism.

The DPRK will exercise its sovereign rights with dignity, including the satellite’s launch, without paying attention to others and making every effort to defend the State’s sovereignty and national security interests against external threats and obstructions to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula and its region, the statement ended.

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