The U.S. State Department on Wednesday condemned North Korea’s launch of a medium-range missile into the Sea of Japan, saying it is a «clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.
«This launch is a clear violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and demonstrates the threat posed by Pyongyang’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs to its neighbors, the region, international peace and security,» State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
According to the United States, this action underscores the need for all countries to «fully» implement UN Security Council resolutions related to North Korea, which aim to «prohibit North Korea from acquiring the technologies and materials necessary to conduct these destabilizing tests.»
«Together with the international community, we call on North Korea to refrain from further provocations and to engage in sustained and substantive dialogue. Our commitments to the defense of South Korea and Japan remain steadfast,» the State Department added in the missive.
Hours earlier, North Korea fired three projectiles, two short-range and one medium-range, into the Sea of Japan. The latter triggered anti-aircraft alarms in several prefectures in northern Japan.
South Korea and Japan have also condemned the missile launches, saying they are «a clear and serious challenge to the international community».
These launches come a day after North Korea launched nearly twenty missiles into the Sea of Japan, one of which flew over the maritime demarcation line between the two Koreas for the first time since the war between the two countries, setting off anti-aircraft sirens on one of the South Korean islands.
The offensive by Pyongyang further escalates tensions in the region, after North Korea has in recent weeks launched dozens of ballistic missiles in tests banned by UN Security Council resolutions, in response to US-North Korean military maneuvers which it considers an invasion rehearsal.
