Ministry of Foreign Affairs on North Korea's ICBM Launch: "Violation of Security Council Resolution, Serious Provocation"

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Nothing to Gain from Illegal Provocations... Firm Response"

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the East Sea on the 16th.

Im Su-seok, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at the regular briefing on the same day, "Our government strongly condemns North Korea's launch of a long-range ballistic missile toward Japan just before President Yoon Seok-yeol's visit to Japan."

He added, "The recent successive missile launches by North Korea, including today's long-range ballistic missile, clearly violate multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Furthermore, this is a serious provocation that significantly escalates tensions in the region."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Spokesperson Im emphasized, "Our government will firmly maintain the robust ROK-US combined defense posture and will cooperate with the international community to respond resolutely so that North Korea realizes it cannot gain anything through illegal provocations."

When asked about ongoing discussions to push for a UNSC presidential statement, a Foreign Ministry official replied, "As far as I know, discussions are still ongoing." He added, "Consultations and communications are continuing between the US and relevant countries, including with countries that have been passive on this matter."

Regarding whether the newly launched long-range missile would be reflected in the statement, he said, "Since North Korea's missile provocations continue during the drafting process, the recent situation is expected to be part of the discussion."

Earlier, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that around 7:10 a.m. on the same day, they detected one long-range ballistic missile launched from the Pyongyang Sunan area into the East Sea.

North Korea's ballistic missile was launched at a higher angle than the normal trajectory (30?45 degrees), flew approximately 1,000 km, and landed in the East Sea. The missile was launched northeastward and reportedly landed in the sea near the border area of China and Russia. According to Japan's Ministry of Defense, the missile flew for about 70 minutes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.