News / Koreas

UN Security Council condemns N Korea rocket launch

Sunday, 07 February 2016 6:49 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 07 February 2016 6:48 PM ]

This picture, taken from North Korean TV and released by South Korean news agency Yonhap on February 7, 2016, shows a rocket moments after being launched by North Korea. (Via AFP)

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has strongly condemned North Korea for its latest launch of a long-range rocket.

The 15-nation council in a statement on Sunday reiterated that it would soon adopt a sanctions resolution “in response to these dangerous and serious violations.”

The statement was backed by all council members during an emergency closed-door meeting that was held to discuss the controversial rocket launch. South Korea, Japan, and the US, had in a joint request, called on the UNSC to convene the session as soon as Sunday.

Venezuelan Ambassador Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno, the president of the council this month, told reporters that the launch was “a serious violation of Security Council resolutions.”

Diplomats at the council had earlier said that they expected the body to issue a unanimous statement of condemnation.

The developments come after Pyongyang said it successfully launched a long-range rocket reportedly aimed at placing an earth observation satellite into orbit. However, the US and South Korea denounced the move as a cover for an intercontinental ballistic missile test.

People in Seoul watch a news report on North Korea’s rocket launch, February 7, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

North Korea is already under UN sanctions over launching missiles considered by the US and South Korea as ballistic and aimed at delivering nuclear warheads.

Reacting to the latest launch, Seoul and Washington have agreed to start formal negotiations on the possible deployment of an American missile system to the Korean Peninsula to deal with what they call threats from the North.

The US says the deployment of the missile system to the Korean Peninsula acts as a deterrent against North Korea’s ballistic missile program, but Russia and China say such a move would undermine stability on the restive peninsula.

Thousands of US soldiers are stationed in South Korea and Japan.

Senior officials in Pyongyang have frequently said that they are boosting defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats. The country is irked by joint military maneuvers by South Korea and the US and views them as direct threats against its security.

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