The ballistic missile launch drew immediate condemnation from the governments of China, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
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According to officials from South Korea and Japan, two missiles – said to be Rodong – were launched at 7.50am from an area near the south-western county of Eunyul.
The first missile flew about 1000km before landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, marking its third launch since South Korea agreed to deploy a U.S. advanced, anti-missile system.
But China was quick to dismiss the reports, saying South Korea has misunderstood the actions of the North. China is one of the few allies of the globally isolated North Korea. South Korea referred to the launch as North Korea’s way of showing its ambition to broadly and directly attack neighboring countries and target South Korean airfields and seaports.
Japan said the one missile had landed in the Sea of Japan, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) off its northern coast and within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). North Korea is still trying to master its missile technology.
North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches will be condemned by the UN Security Council, US Ambassador Samantha Power predicted following an emergency meeting. France’s deputy United Nations ambassador Alexis Lamek said the tests violated not only council resolutions but worldwide treaties against proliferation of ballistic missiles and threatened global peace and security. Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman.
The rushed and risky decision made by Seoul and Washington have crossed the security bottom line drawn by the South Korean public. After several failures, the North put its first satellite into space aboard a long-range rocket in December 2012, and conducted another successful satellite launch in February. And in June, it shot a Musudan missile some 870 miles high, in what analysts described as a step forward in its goal of developing enough capacity to hit US-allied bases in the region.
The United States, Japan and 10 other countries have requested a UN investigation of North Korea’s ballistic missile tests in a move that could lead to targeted sanctions, according to a joint letter obtained by AFP yesterday.
The United States was expected to circulate a draft council statement condemning North Korea, but China’s ambassador Liu Jieyi urged caution.
North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into Japanese waters. The other flew around 1,000 km.
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North Korea is expected to carry out more weapons launches in coming weeks to protest annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that begin later this month.
