South Korea condemns North Korea's missile launch, calls it a violation of UN resolution

ILLUSTRATION/PHOTO Ank Kumar via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - The South Korean Presidential National Security Office on Tuesday condemned North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop provocations.

The security office held an emergency security meeting with military officials shortly after North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea.

"The launch of North Korea's ballistic missile is a provocative act that violates the UN Security Council resolution," the office said in a statement quoted by ANTARA from Yonhap, Tuesday, January 27.

South Korea called on Pyongyang to "immediately stop" the action.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the missile launch from an area north of Pyongyang at around 15:50 local time.

The missiles flew about 350 kilometers. South Korean and US authorities are analyzing the exact details of the launch.

The launch of the North Korean missile and South Korean response measures have been reported to President Lee Jae Myung.

The launch comes as Pyongyang is widely expected to hold its first ruling party congress in five years early next month, an event expected to outline North Korea's main policy directions in the areas of defense, diplomacy and the economy.

North Korea last fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea on January 4, as President Lee prepared to depart for Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

North Korea later said the launch involved a test of a hypersonic missile, attended by leader Kim Jong-un.