Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the DPRK leader, threatened in response to U.S. actions to intensify missile launches into the Pacific Ocean, where Pyongyang launches missiles very rarely. Her statement was published Monday by the CTAC news agency.

Recently, the U.S. strategic strikes have been intensifying on the Korean Peninsula, said Kim Yo-jong, who serves as deputy head of the department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. Pyongyang, she said, is carefully considering their impact on the security of the DPRK and will take appropriate responses.

The frequency of using the Pacific Ocean as Korea's range depends on the nature of U.S. military action, she added, assuring that Pyongyang's will not change to bring fanatics who aggravate the situation to account.

The last time the DPRK launched a missile flew over Japanese territory and fell into the Pacific Ocean was on Oct. 4 last year. Before that, Pyongyang conducted similar tests only in September 2017.

Last year was a record year for the number of missile launches by the DPRK, when more than 70 missiles were involved in 37 launches. This year, the DPRK continues to actively test missiles. Thus, on February 18 Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile Hwason-1, which fell in the exclusive economic zone of Japan, 200 kilometers west of the northern island of Hokkaido.