Pyongyang has ramped up its missile testing in 2022, saying it will bolster its defenses against the United States and evaluate “restarting all temporally suspended activities,” according to North Korea’s state-run news agency KCNA.

Pyongyang is barred by international law from developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons.

After the rail car test, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson admonished Washington for its posture against Pyongyang’s weapons development. “If the US adopts such a confrontational stance, the DPRK will be forced to take stronger and certain reaction to it,” the spokesman said, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

In a recent statement carried by KCNA, a spokesperson defended North Korea’s right to bolster its arms, saying its “recent development of new-type weapon was just part of its efforts for modernizing its national defense capability.”

Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said the recent tests show the Kim Jong Un regime is “developing an impressive diversity of offensive weapons.”

“Certain North Korean tests aim to develop new capabilities, especially for evading missile defenses. Other launches are intended to demonstrate the readiness and versatility of missile forces that North Korea has already deployed,” Easley said.