US Condemns North Korea Test Missile Launch
2 Min Read
The US State Department 'condemned' North Korea's test missile launch, calling on Pyongyang to engage in dialogue.
-
The North Korean news agency KCNA shows the test-firing of a new type of large-caliber multiple launch rocket system by the North Korean military in an undated handout made available on March 4, 2016 (KCNA)
The US Department of State condemned Monday North Korea's test missile launch, urging the DPRK to engage in dialogue.
"The United States condemns the DPRK's missile launch," the department said in a statement. "This launch is in violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and poses a threat to the DPRK's neighbors and the international community. We remain committed to a diplomatic approach to the DPRK and call on them to engage in dialogue."
On Monday, North Korea test-launched a missile, which was reported by the South's military as a short-range one, into the sea. Pyongyang's ambassador to the United Nations insisted it had an undeniable right to tests its weapons.
As per South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile was fired from Jagang, a northern province. Additionally, a spokesman for the Japanese Ministry of Defense told AFP the projectile "appears to be a ballistic missile."
North Korea defended the test launch at the UN General Assembly in New York less than an hour later. Pyongyang's ambassador Kim Song said, "Nobody can deny the right to self-defense for the DPRK."
In North Korea's own General Assembly speech, ambassador Kim Song defended Pyongyang's right to "develop, test, manufacture, and possess" weapon systems equivalent to those of the South and its ally, the United States.
The United States and several western allies have imposed sanctions on the DPRK, under which Pyongyang is banned from having programs to develop nuclear and ballistic missiles
North Korea test-fired a new long-range cruise missile on September 13, their first since March, which raised concerns in Washington regarding the 'threats' these tests pose.
The firings carried out in March in the Japanese sea were interpreted as a 'challenge' to the Biden administration.
