“These launches are provocative”, Obama told reporters after a meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Laos.
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Obama went on to Laos for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
South Korea’s Deputy Ambassador Hahn Choong-hee said the worldwide community must send a “clear and unequivocal message” that if the North Koreans continue to violate global commitments and sanctions, “they will face much stronger” and “significant countermeasures from the worldwide community”.
South Korea said in July that it will deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, missile-defense system from the U.S. by the end of 2017, a move China opposes.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
“The members of the Security Council reiterated that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall refrain from further actions, including nuclear tests, in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions”, the Council noted.
Park also said “considering that China’s role is important in effectively implementing sanctions against the North and resolving its nuclear problem, South Korea and the US agreed to continue communication with China through various channels”.
The latest incident, condemned in Tuesday’s statement, was the firing of three ballistic missiles into the sea between the peninsula and Japan on Monday, as President Obama joined other G20 leaders at a summit in China.
On Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un urged the nation’s military to bolster its nuclear capabilities after ordering the launch of three ballistic missiles.
“Taking into consideration the importance of China’s role in effective implementation of sanctions and the resolution process of the North Korean nuclear issue, our two countries have agreed to continue to communicate with China through various channels”, she said.
That alliance, he said, remains the linchpin “of peace and security, not just on the Korean Peninsula, but across the region”. The sanctions subject all cargo in and out of North Korea to inspections, bans exports of natural resources including coal and gold, tightens a weapons embargo and ends relationships with outside banks.
Japan’s UN Ambassador Koro Bessho said he was encouraged that in the council meeting “there was a much stronger show of unity” and all members “condemned the launches in very strong terms”.
South Korea’s defense ministry said the missiles were speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), and that they were fired without navigational warning to Japan.
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A month later, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket which it said placed an earth observation satellite into orbit.
