Seoul denounces Pyongyang missile launch

South Korea on Thursday denounced North Korea's missile launch as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

Seoul's foreign ministry said it strongly condemns the yet another ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang in defiance of repeated warnings from the international community, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement called the launch a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a provocative act threatening peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the world.

Seoul will push to encourage actions at UN Security Council in close consultations with major countries, while seeking to make the international community put more pressures and sanctions on Pyongyang, the statement said.

The statement urged North Korea to stop further provocations such as another nuclear test that will speed up self-destruction of the regime in so far as the country pursues the advancement in nuclear and missile programmes.

The statement came after Pyongyang launched a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile on Thursday. If confirmed, it would be the second test-firing of the missile following the launch on April 15.

The Thursday launch appeared to have failed as the projectile was believed to have crashed several seconds after liftoff, Seoul's defence ministry said.

The first test-launch also failed as the missile exploded in mid-air.

--IANS

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