SEOUL (AA) – North Korea has loudly rejected a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) statement that condemned its recent launch of ballistic missile launches.
In a statement released by the reclusive state’s foreign ministry Sunday, Pyongyang slammed the United States and its “followers,” accusing the 15-member council of posing threats to its dignity and right to exist.
“The U.S. and its followers committed a serious hostile act of finding fault with the DPRK’s [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s] measures for bolstering nuclear deterrence for self-defense, such as the strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile test-fire,” the Korean Central News Agency said in a statement carried by Yonhap news agency.
“Now that the U.S. posed threats to the dignity and the right to existence of the DPRK defying its serious warning, it will continue to take a series of eventful action steps as a full-fledged military power.”
On Friday, a UNSC statement drafted by the U.S. from the UN headquarters in New York said that the UNSC would “continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures”.
It blasted Pyongyang for its diversion of resources “to the pursuit of ballistic missiles,” highlighting that while the North chose such a program its citizens “have great unmet needs”.
On Aug. 24, North Korea test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile, in what its military described as a response to ongoing military drills between South Korea and the U.S.
It reportedly traveled around 500 kilometers (310 miles) before landing in waters under Japan’s air defense identification zone.
The launch was immediately slammed by neighbors Japan, South Korea and China, who pledged to enhance their cooperation in dealing with Pyongyang during a meeting in Tokyo.
The move was also condemned by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which described it as “yet another violation of [North Korea’s] international obligations”.
“Persistence in continuing such ballistic missile launches are clearly not conducive to assuring peace and stability in the region,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Aug. 24 launch followed a July 9 launch, and ballistic missile tests July 19 and Aug. 3
