VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican has condemned the latest round of nuclear testing and missile launching by North Korea, warning that these acts of aggression threaten “the very survival” of the country’s own people by exacerbating its isolation. The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, published a front-page news story May 27 along with an editorial titled “International isolation as a regime’s choice.”

North Korea drew swift and angry international condemnation after announcing May 25 that it had successfully performed a nuclear experiment. Seismic equipment registered a small blast in the eastern portion of the country. Three short-range missiles were then launched into the Sea of Japan. The following day, May 26, two more missiles were launched off the country’s eastern coast.

In its commentary, L’Osservatore said, “Barack Obama has condemned Pyongyang’s nuclear test, labeling it a threat to international security and peace. But even before being a threat to peace, this atomic experiment constitutes a threat to the very survival of the North Korean people who will pay the consequences of the isolation the regime has chosen.” Pyongyang is North Korea’s capital.