The European Union(EU) and 17 other countries strongly condemned North Korea’s latest missile launch at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva while the North accused the U.S. of driving the Korean Peninsula towards “an extreme level of explosion.” 

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan criticized the North’s missile provocation in unison at the UN-sponsored meeting on Tuesday, saying that launching a missile over other countries' airspace cannot be justified as an act of self-defense.
 
Robert Wood, U.S. Permanent Representative to the conference, urged the North to immediately halt provocations, saying the latest missile test is a big concern for the U.S. and many other countries.
 
However, North Korean Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Han Tae-song, said Pyongyang will continue to strengthen its defense capability with nuclear force as long as the U.S. maintains a nuclear freeze and continues military drills on its doorstep.

[Sound bite: Han Tae-song - North Korean Ambassador to the UN in Geneva (English)]
"It is an undeniable fact that the U.S. is driving the situation of Korean Peninsula towards extreme level of explosion, by deploying huge strategic assets around the peninsula, to conduct a series of nuclear war drills and maintaining nuclear threats and blackmail, for over a half century."
 
Without mentioning that the North's missile flew over Japan, Han said the U.S.’ pressure and provocative acts will only provide justification for the North's measures to strengthen its self-defense capabilities. 

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