U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that North Korea's recent series of missile provocations were likely aimed at drawing the U.S.' attention and protest security cooperation among the U.S., South Korea and Japan. 

Blinken presented the assessment on Monday during an on-stage talk with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University in California.

The top U.S. diplomat said that from the leadership's perspective in North Korea, part of what the U.S. is seeing is that the North "doesn't like to be ignored."

He said that with provocations, the North appears to be trying to remind the world that North Korea is "still a problem", which has to be dealt with.

Blinken also highlighted that over the past few months the U.S. significantly increased work with its allies and partners in the region, such as South Korea and Japan, including renewing military exercises that had been around "for years". 

Blinken said he believes the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "saw that and didn't like it" and that the North's provocations were a response to that.