North Korean media urges more vital nuclear force after U.S. missile test.

North Korea’s official media said on Friday that the country will strengthen its military deterrence to protect itself from American nuclear weapons directed against it. North Korea also criticized the U.S. for a recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Air Force fired a Minuteman III missile with nuclear capability from a facility in California; however, the rocket exploded upon detection of an abnormality. South Korean defense officials attended the test, marking their first visit of that kind since 2016.

Even though the test was unsuccessful, according to a North Korean military analyst, the existence of South Korean “puppet military gangsters” demonstrated that North Korea was the intended target of U.S. nuclear weapons.

“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK as it is officially known, will as ever continue its military action to bolster up the deterrence and ensure the strategic security in the Korean peninsula and the region,” the unnamed commentator stated in a report carried by the KCNA state news agency.

The United States and South Korea were also criticized in the article for several recent military actions, such as the sending of U.S. nuclear strategic bombers to South Korea.

The North Korean pundit declared, “The nuclear threat by the U.S. and its vassal forces to the DPRK nears a new red line,” and demanded that “self-defensive nuclear armed forces” be strengthened.

The remark prompted the Unification Ministry of South Korea, which oversees inter-Korean affairs, to inquire if North Korea was ready to defend yet another military “provocation.”

Deputy ministry spokeswoman Kim In-ae told a briefing that “it is clear that the current heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula resulted from North Korea’s futile nuclear development and reckless military provocations.”

Last month, South Korea, the United States, and Japan conducted a combined drill close to the Korean peninsula that featured fighter planes from all three countries and an American B-52 strategic bomber.

Last month, the United States and South Korea conducted air drills with 130 airplanes from both nations to imitate round-the-clock combat operations.

The stated purpose of the drills between the U.S. and South Korea is to keep both countries combat-ready to react to North Korea.

North Korea views the exercises as American and South Korean allied preparations for an invasion.