The U.S. State Department rejected a claim that North Korea's recent missile tests were provoked by the United States, calling it "baloney."

Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a press briefing on Monday that people saw China and other countries make false claims during a UN Security Council session last week that U.S. provocations were the cause of the North's ballistic missile launches. 

Patel said, "That's baloney and absolutely not the case."

The spokesperson reaffirmed that the U.S. condemns the North's continued provocations, which are a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, and that these activities pose a very serious threat to the region and to the world.

China and Russia, permanent members of the UNSC, have voiced opposition to additional sanctions against North Korea over its missile provocations.