Japan, US, S. Korea Slam Pyongyang's Missile Launch

10/31/2024 5:09:04 AM

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, Oct 31 (KUNA) -- Senior diplomats of Japan, the US and South Korea on Thursday strongly condemned North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)-class missile launch earlier in the day, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
This came in the phone conversation held by Akihiro Okochi, Director General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Seth Bailey, US Deputy Special Representative for the Korean and Mongolian Affairs, and Lee Jun-il, Director General for the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Korean Peninsula Policy bureau, in response to the missile launch, the ministry said in a press release.
Okochi, Bailey and Lee reconfirmed their recognition that the launch is a grave and imminent threat to regional security and a clear and serious challenge to the international community, the ministry said. The three officials also reaffirmed that North's ballistic missile launch is a violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
They also vowed that the three countries will continue to work closely together on issues such as strengthening regional deterrence and response capabilities, including Japan-US-South Korea security cooperation, responses at the UN Security Council, and international cooperation, including cooperation with like-minded countries.
According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, North Korea fired what appeared to be a new type of solid-fuel ICBM toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Thursday morning, which flew about 1,000 km before landing in the sea, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Thursday's launch came 10 months after the North fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM on Dec. 18.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang confirmed its ICBM launch about five hours after the South Korean military's announcement, calling it a "very crucial test."
"I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces," North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), using the acronym of North Korea's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kim described the weapons test as an "appropriate military action" that aimed to inform its enemies of his country's "counteraction will," the KCNA said. (end)
mk

MENAFN31102024000071011013ID1108836983

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.