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UNSC to Meet Over N. Korea Missile Test

UNSC to Meet Over N. Korea Missile Test
UNSC to Meet Over N. Korea Missile Test

The United States, Japan and South Korea have requested urgent diplomatic talks at the United Nations on Monday over North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launch, with Seoul condemning what it called “serious military and security threats” and predicting more such tests.

A spokesman for the US Mission to the United Nations said Sunday night that the meeting is expected to take place on Monday. The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, AP reported.

The UN Mission for Ukraine, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency, later confirmed that closed consultations on North Korea will take place late Monday afternoon.

The banned missile test is seen as an implicit challenge to US President Donald Trump who has vowed a tough line on Pyongyang but has yet to release a strategy for dealing with a country whose nuclear ambitions have bedeviled US leaders for decades.

The missile is believed to have flown about 500 kilometers (310 miles) before splashing down into the ocean in international waters.

North Korea had warned it was ready to test its first intercontinental ballistic missile. The US Strategic Command, however, said it detected and tracked what it assessed to be a medium- or intermediate-range missile. The reports of the launch came as Trump was hosting Abe.

After receiving word of the launch, Trump stood at his south Florida estate with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who called the move “intolerable.”

Appearing with Trump at a news conference at Trump’s estate, Abe condemned the missile launch as “absolutely intolerable”. He read a brief statement calling on the North to comply fully with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Trump followed Abe saying in part: “I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100%.”

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