The U.S. Government has strongly condemned North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental missile that has reached Japan’s territorial waters in the East Sea.
According to the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden is holding «close consultations» with his allies in Seoul and Tokyo, with whom he has decided to strengthen security cooperation in the wake of Pyongyang’s launches.
«This launch is a blatant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, unnecessarily raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,» the United States said, stressing that such action demonstrates that North Korea «continues to prioritize its illegal weapons of mass destruction programs» over the welfare of the people.
«We urge all countries to condemn these violations and to call on North Korea to come to the table for serious negotiations. The door is not closed to diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions and opt for diplomatic engagement,» the White House said in its statement.
In this regard, Washington has announced that it will take «the necessary measures» to ensure «the security of the American homeland and the Republic of Korea», as well as that of its Japanese allies.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has convened a meeting on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, to address the North Korean launch, the White House confirmed.
The meeting, attended by the prime ministers of Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, resulted in agreement on the need to «continue to analyze the situation in close coordination with other allies and partners.» «They agreed that this launch is a flagrant violation of multiple UN resolutions and called on UN member states to fully implement them.»
«The leaders have reaffirmed that a nuclear test by North Korea would meet with a firm and decisive response from the international community and have reaffirmed that the path to dialogue remains open to North Korea,» said the White House, which stressed that the meeting participants «have called on North Korea to abandon unnecessary provocations and return to serious and sustained diplomacy.»
North Korea has launched this Friday a missile towards the Sea of Japan for the second consecutive day. Japanese authorities have detailed that the projectile has probably fallen «within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone», which has led the Japanese Coast Guard to alert fishing boats.
However, Japan’s Defense Minister, Yasukazu Hamada, detailed that the missile launched by Pyongyang had flown for 69 minutes and could have «a range of more than 5,000 kilometers, which would include continental United States territory», according to statements reported by NHK.
