The launch was verified by both the Japanese and the South Korean militaries.
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Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who chaired the meeting with China’s Wang Yi and South Korea’s Yun Byung-se, said that North Korea’s missile launch is a “provocation that simply can not be tolerated”.
“There are various outstanding issues among Japan, China and South Korea, but it is important to overcome them with political wisdom to promote cooperation”, Kishida said.
The participants were presidential chief of staff Lee Won-jong, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Defense Minister Han Min-koo, Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo, National Intelligence Service Director Lee Byung-ho, deputy national security advisor and NSC Secretary-General Cho Tae-yong and senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs Kim Kyou-hyun.
North Korea has test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile, according to the US and South Korea.
SEOUL-North Korea on Wednesday fired a ballistic missile from a submarine into the sea in an apparent protest against the start of annual South Korea-U.S. military drills, Seoul’s military said.
North Korea already has land-based missiles that can hit South Korea and Japan, including US military bases in those countries. But in recent months it has carried out repeated missile launches, and is believed to be close to conducting its fifth test of a nuclear device.
The U.S. Strategic Command says theKN-11 submarine-launched ballistic missile has indeed a 500 km range, although it is not known whether this is the limit of its capacity.
Wednesday’s launch came two days after the US and South Korea began their 12-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises, prompting North Korean threats of retaliation for the military drills, which it views as an invasion rehearsal. “We again urge [North Korea] to take the steps necessary to de-escalate the situation and return to dialogue on de-nuclearization”.
“He also claimed that the three states have “reconfirmed” their common recognition on zero-tolerance on the North’s nuclear armament”, in a bid to dismiss skepticism on the unity of the Northeast Asian trio.
“We don’t believe that it should impair our ability to continue to work with the rest of the worldwide community, including China, to apply additional pressure to the North Korean regime”, he said.
North Korea fired two other missiles from submarines earlier this year but they were believed to have exploded in midair after flying several or 30 kilometers, according to South Korean defense officials.
During Wednesday’s talks, the ministers apparently focused more on the areas where they can cooperate, including disaster prevention, people exchange and the environment, rather than discussing the thorny issues, which are expected to come up at their separate bilateral talks later in the day.
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(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon). A woman uses her smartphone as a South Korean army soldier stands at Yoido Subway Station during an anti-terror drill as part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016.
