NORTH-KOREA MISSILE LAUNCH CRITICISED BY U.N

The UN Security Council has condemned North Korea’s launch of
two ballistic missiles and said it was considering an “appropriate
response”.
The Council’s president, Luxembourg UN Ambassador Sylvie
Lucas, described it as a violation of Security Council resolutions.
North Korea test-fired two medium-range Nodong missiles over
the sea on Wednesday.
It was Pyongyang’s first launch of such missiles since 2009.
Ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang are banned by the United
Nations.
The Security Council held a closed debate on Thursday that
included a report from the deputy secretary general for political
affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, diplomats said.
The condemnation was not a formal statement but Ms Lucas said
members had requested she read out the remarks as agreed by all
participants.
She said members had agreed “to consult on an appropriate
response” and said that this response “should be given quickly”.
The South Korean defence ministry said the missiles had been fired
from the Suckon region north of Pyongyang and flew for about
650km (400 miles) before falling into the sea off the east coast of
the Korean Peninsula.
The ministry described it as a “grave provocation”.
The US State Department described the launch as “a troubling and
provocative escalation”.
In recent weeks, North Korea has launched multiple short-range
missiles – actions which have coincided with annual US-South
Korea military exercises.
North Korean ballistic missile launches are banned under UN
Security Council resolutions adopted in response to nuclear tests
by Pyongyang in 2006 and 2009 and subsequent rocket firings.
The Security Council expanded its existing sanctions after another
nuclear test in February 2013.
The council has previously imposed a series of sanctions on
Pyongyang targeting its missile and nuclear programmes.