A few minutes past six o’clock on Wednesday evening, halfway across the Sea of Japan, a missile launched from North Korea toward Japan plummeted from the sky into the water below.
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One month earlier, another twin missile test failed, while on the anniversary of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung’s birthday in April, another Musudan missile was reportedly launched unsuccessfully.
The council reiterated its demand that North Korea end its “flagrant” violations, halt all nuclear tests and ballistic missile activity, and comply with five United Nations sanctions resolutions imposed since the country’s first nuclear test in 2006.
On Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang carried out the tests as a result of U.S. military threats, sanctions as well as economic pressures.
“We have the sure capability to attack in an overall and practical way the Americans in the Pacific operational theater”, stated the leader of the North Korean regime.
“The members of the Security Council deplore all DPRK ballistic missile activities noting that such activities contribute to the DPRK’s development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension”, the Security Council said in a statement. The missiles were tracked over the Sea of Japan, where it is indicated that they fell.
The repeated provocative actions by North Korea violate the UN Security Council resolution, which prohibits North Korea’s use of ballistic missile technology.
Pakistan have expressed grave concern over reports regarding the latest missile tests conducted by North Korea which are in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions.
The United States, NATO, Japan and South Korea also denounced the test, with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter urging the expansion of missile defence systems in the region.
In an interview with Law Street, Lewis compared North Korea’s missile tests to students who might not achieve ideal scores, “but that doesn’t mean they aren’t learning”.
Han Song Ryol, head of the department of USA affairs at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, blamed the current situation on the United States, saying it needs to stop its military threats, sanctions and economic pressure.
On Wednesday, North Korea fired off what is believed to be two Musudan mid-range missiles from near the city of Wonsan on its eastern coast.
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The test-fire was successful without putting the security of neighbouring countries at risk, said the North’s KCNA news agency, referring to the missile as a “Hwasong-10”. The United Nations Security Council, which in March imposed new sanctions on the North following its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February, met at the request of the United States and Japan.
