UN Security Council voices 'strong opposition' to DPRK's latest missile launch

SEOUL, June 22, 2016 -- A Local resident watches the screen broadcasting the news that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired a missile, at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, June 22, 2016. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday fired the sixth suspected Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile, the second in the day, after the fifth test-launch had failed, Yonhap news agency reported citing military authorities. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)

UNITED NATIONS, June 22 -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday expressed "strong concerns and opposition" to Pyongyang's launch of two suspected missiles, saying that the Wednesday launch is "in violation of" all relevant council resolutions.

Alexis Lamek, the deputy permanent representative of France to the United Nations, told reporters here after a closed council meeting that all the council members "expressed the strong concern as well as their opposition against these launches." France holds the rotating council presidency for June.

The 15-nation UN council met behind closed doors here Wednesday afternoon at the request of the United States and Japan in response to the latest launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"All (the) members also considered these launches were in violation of all Security Council resolutions, and insisted on the crucial importance to work for their implementation, in particular the resolution 2270," he said.

The Security Council has adopted five resolutions to curb the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs.

The latest one, known as the resolution 2270, was adopted in March to impose the most severe sanctions yet on the country, including an export ban and asset freeze.

"All Security Council members expressed their commitment to a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the situation on the Korean Peninsula," following the latest DPRK launches, Lamek said.

Meanwhile, Lamek said that a press council statement will be issued "very soon" in response to Pyongyang's latest launches.

Earlier Wednesday, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters here that the United Nations condemned Pyongyang's latest launches as an "irresponsible act" and an "unacceptable violation" of a ban imposed by relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The reported DPRK launch is "in defiance of the unanimous will of the international community, (and) is a brazen and irresponsible act," Haq said at a daily news briefing here.

"The continued pursuit by the DPRK of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles will only undermine its security and fail to improve the lives of its citizens," Haq said.

The U.S. government on Wednesday condemned the latest missile launches by the DPRK as "provocative actions," while vowing to apply additional pressure on Pyongyang.

"The United States strongly condemns the provocative actions by the North Korean government that is a flagrant violation of their international obligations," Josh Earnest, spokesman of the White House, told a news briefing.

Earnest confirmed that the U.S. military detected and tracked what it believed to be two DPRK missile launches, which were determined to pose no threat to North America.

Earlier, China called on all sides to make a constructive effort to resume dialogue and ease the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

"Given the complicated and sensitive situation on the Korean Peninsula, all parties should avoid moves that escalate tension on the Peninsula and work to maintain regional peace and stability," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

The DPRK on Thursday announced that it has successfully test-launched a surface-to-surface medium- and long-range strategic ballistic missile Hwasong-10, according to state media organ the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The ballistic missile "took off a self-propelled launching ramp and accurately landed in the targeted waters forward 400 km after flying to the maximum height of 1413.6 km along the planned flight orbit," the KCNA said.

The test-fire confirmed the flying kinetic feature of the DPRK ballistic missile with an updated system, according to the KCNA. The test also verified heat-resistance of a warhead in its re-entry section and its flight stability.