The South Korean government has strongly condemned North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile test. A statement released by the foreign ministry on Saturday said Pyongyang’s “repetitive and deliberate provocations” will never be tolerated.
Advertisement
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s continued military provocation, which includes its Musudan mid-range ballistic missile launch in last June 22, which is a blatant violation of the United Nations resolutions”, the officer said.
Abe said the launch did not gravely affect Japan’s national security.
North Korea is developing the technology to launch missiles from submarines and if successful this would be an alarming development for rivals and neighbors because missiles from submerged vessels are harder to detect in advance. United States and South Korean officials said two missiles were fired and that one missile failed.
The announcement came a day after the U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted leader North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses.
The UN Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in March for its nuclear test and rocket launch.
Last month, North Korea claimed to have successfully test-fired an intermediate ballistic missile from its east coast.
He said, “There’s no reason why the deployment should be of concern to Chinese leaders”.
Villagers and politicians from towns that have been mentioned as possible sites have said they will oppose it, fearing that strong electronic signals from the radar might harm residents’ health and that their towns would become an early target for North Korean missiles should war break out on the peninsula.
South Korea also called the tests “provocative behavior”.
Ruling Saenuri Party spokesman Ji Sang-wuk said the North’s missile launch would only escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and North Korea will gain nothing from its provocation. According to their reading, the missile “fell” after being tracked over the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
U.S. Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, NATO’s top military commander, told reporters Saturday that North Korea’s latest missile test represents a serious threat, both to the region and the U.S.
Advertisement
SEOUL, July 8 (Xinhua) – The decision between South Korea and the United States to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on Friday triggered various controversies as it causes regional tensions and strong oppositions from people living in candidate sites amid remaining doubts about its military effectiveness.
