U.S. and Japan strongly condemn N. Korea's ballistic missile launch

북한 미사일 발사에 미국, 일본 강력 규탄... 중국은 공식 반응 없어

The U.S. and Japan have strongly condemned North Korea's missile launch,... calling it a violoation of the UN Security Council resolutions.
Washington reaffirmed its security commitment to the allies as well.
But China... is yet to make an official statement.
For more on the international response, we turn to Oh Jung-hee.
The United States and Japan were quick to condemn the launch.
U.S. State Department acting spokesperson Mark Toner said it violates U.N. Security Council resolutions,... which prohibit the regime from using ballistic missile technology.
He urged the North to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric,... and to make a "strategic choice" -- to fulfill its international obligations and return to the denuclearization talks.
Toner also added... that America's commitment to defend its allies such as South Korea and Japan remains ironclad.
He emphasized that the three countries are prepared to make full use of their capabilities to counter the growing threat from North Korea.

Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe strongly denounced the launch.
Noting that three out of the four projectiles landed in waters within Japan's exclusive economic zone,... Abe stressed that the North Korean threat has risen to a new level.


"This launch has clearly indicated that North Korea poses a new level of threat. The launches are clearly in violation of Security Council resolutions, which we will not tolerate. We have strongly rebuked North Korea."

He added that Japan will work with the U.S. and South Korea to come up with countermeasures.
An official from the Japanese defense ministry was also quoted by Tokyo-based Kyodo News Agency... calling Monday's launch "an act of violence that will only deepen the North's isolation."
But he also reportedly expressed concerns... that the North's launches are becoming more and more accurate.

Chinese state-run media CCTV and the Huanqiu Shibao peper have reported on the the missile launch... seeing it as a response to the South Korea-U.S. joint military drill.
But the Chinese government itself has yet to comment.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.

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