M’sia condemns North Korea’s firing of missiles

The U.N. Security Council issued its latest condemnation of the North after it conducted ballistic missile test launches on Monday.

“The members of the Security Council deplore all Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ballistic missile activities, including these launches”, the United Nations body said in a statement, using North Korea’s official name.

Park told reporters Tuesday that North Korea missile program is “fundamentally threatening the security” of the Korean Peninsula and both leaders defended its position as defensive. The council gave no indication of what “further significant measures” it might take. Those sanctions reflected growing anger at Pyongyang’s nuclear test in January and a subsequent rocket launch.

In the statement, the Council members also expressed serious concern about North Korea latest missile launches after a series of earlier ones, held intermittently on different occasions between 15 April and 22 August – in flagrant disregard of repeated Council statements.

“Such activities contribute to (North Korea’s) development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension”.

In a joint press statement released after the bilateral summit at Landmark Hotel in the Laotian capital of Vientiane, the two leaders said the allies agreed to maintain robust countermeasures against North Korea’s provocations through Washington’s extended deterrence and the strengthening of combined defense capabilities, including the planned deployment of a USA anti-missile system to the peninsula.

“The Security Council must remain unequivocal and united in the condemnation of these tests and we must take action to enforce the words we put on paper, to enforce our resolutions”, she told reporters, speaking alongside her Japanese and South Korean counterparts. China, the reclusive North Korea’s main diplomatic ally, joined the criticism.

“If it is willing to recognize its worldwide obligations and enforce the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the opportunities for us to dialogue with them are there”, Obama said.

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles that were believed to be medium-range Rodong-class.

Earlier Tuesday, President Obama said after meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Laos that “North Korea needs to know that provocations will only invite more pressure and further deepen its isolation”.

The UN’s most powerful body agreed to the tough statement hours after a closed-door emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the three launches which landed near Japan. The missiles flew over 600 miles and were reportedly launched without navigational warning to Japan.

Speaking for Japan, Bessho added, “We think that it is necessary for us to think about what additional actions the council can take in unanimity, in unity in bringing about a change in the North Korean behavior”.

South Korea’s deputy U.N. ambassador Hahn Choong Hee said the worldwide community should be united in sending a “clear and unequivocal message to North Korea that if they continue to provoke and violate their global commitments and sanctions, they will face much stronger and insurmountable and significant counter-measures from the worldwide community”.

The isolated communist state has been hit by five sets of United Nations sanctions since it first tested a nuclear device in 2006.

Members of the Security Council including China were quick to denounce the missile tests that took place while Beijing was hosting the G20 meeting in Hangzhou, Yonhap reported. But he didn’t mention any further council action.

Power said there had been “numerous” voices in the council meeting calling “for doing more”.

“So without getting ahead of the council we were also interested in increasing the consequences after this pattern of using these launches to advance the capabilities of the program”, she said.