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

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) TOKYO, May 8 (KUNA) -- Senior diplomats of Japan, the US and South Korea on Thursday sharply blasted North Korea's ballistic missile launches earlier in the day, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
The telephone consultation was held by Akihiro Okochi, Deputy 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 Kim Heun jin, Director for the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Korean Peninsula Policy, in response to the latest ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang, the ministry said in a press release.
Okochi, Bailey and Kim reaffirmed that ballistic missile launches by North Korea violate the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and strongly condemned the Thursday's launches as a threat to peace and security of the region and the international community, the ministry said.
The three officials also reconfirmed close coordination among Japan, the US and South Korea.
According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) from the North's eastern coastal city of Wonsan between 8:10 a.m. (2310 Wednesday GMT) and 9:20 a.m. (0020 GMT).
The North's missiles flew up to 800 km before splashing into the sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. (end)
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