South Korea slams North Korea's latest missile launch
SEOUL: South Korea's new president Moon Jae In "strongly condemned" North Korea's latest missile launch, which represented a "clear violation" of United Nations Security Council resolutions, the presidential office said yesterday.
Mr Moon, who chaired his first National Security Council meeting as president in response to the missile test, said he deeply regrets Pyongyang's latest provocation, which was made only days after the election of a new administration in the South.
"The president said that while South Korea remains open to the possibility of dialogue with North Korea, it is possible only when North Korea shows a change in attitude," Blue House press secretary Yoon Young Chan said at a briefing.
In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said foreign ministers from Japan and South Korea had a phone call yesterday to discuss the situation.
Mr Shotaro Yachi, Mr Abe's top security adviser, also had a call with US national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Mr Abe also told reporters.
Said the Japanese PM: "We will continue to closely coordinate with the United States and South Korea to respond to the North Korea situation."
The flight path of a ballistic missile fired by North Korea was a considerable distance from Russian territory and posed no threat to Russia, the Russian defence ministry said.
Russia's missile alert systems tracked the missile for 23 minutes before it crushed into the Sea of Japan, a ministry statement said.
A Kremlin spokesman said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is visiting Beijing, was concerned about the missile test. - REUTERS
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