SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on North Korea firing a missile over Japan (all times local) : 9: 20 p.m…
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on North Korea firing a missile over Japan (all times local) :
9: 20 p.m.:
Poland has condemned North Korea’s firing of a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear payload and called on its authorities to « stop the provocative tests. »
Poland currently chairs an international body aiming to regulate activity involving ballistic missiles.
The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Poland « strongly condemns the missile test » carried out by North Korea and was especially concerned that the missile flew over another country, Japan.
Poland appealed to the authorities in North Korea to « immediately stop the provocative tests » and to abandon its missile program in a « complete, verifiable and irreversible way. »
It said North Korea’s actions were in violation of the « existing international obligations and were a threat to the security and peace in the region. »
Poland currently heads the Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation.
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9: 15 p.m.:
North Korea’s ambassador to the U. N. in Geneva has said defiantly that his country will not « flinch an inch » on the road to building a nuclear force as long as « U. S. hostile policies and nuclear threats continue. »
Hours after North Korea fired a missile over Japan, Ambassador Han Tae Song told a session of the Conference on Disarmament that his country « has every reason to respond with tough countermeasures. »
Han made no direct reference Tuesday to the missile test during the plenary meeting of the U. N. Conference on Disarmament. The United States, South Korea, Japan and many other member states denounced it.
Han repeated North Korea’s criticism of U. S. joint military exercises with South Korea, calling it « a fanatic act of adding fuel to flame. »
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9 p.m.:
China has urged all countries involved in the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula to show restraint and end a « malicious cycle » of escalating tensions.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said increased military pressure from the United States and South Korea has prompted North Korea to respond with more missile tests, which in turn triggered more military pressure on the North.
She said « time has proven that pressure and sanctions cannot solve the root of the problem. »
Hua told a regular daily briefing Tuesday that the only way to solve the standoff is by addressing the legitimate security concerns of all sides in a balanced way through dialogue.
China has proposed that the U. S. and South Korea halt regular joint military exercises, and in return North Korea would freeze its development of nuclear weapons while the two sides hold talks.
In a first, North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload that flew over U. S. ally Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean.
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8: 45 p.m.
President Donald Trump says « all options are on the table » after North Korea launched ballistic missiles over Japan.
Trump said in a written statement Tuesday that « threatening and destabilizing actions » only increase North Korea’s isolation in the region and around the world.
The president said North Korea’s actions show « contempt for its neighbors » and that « all options are on the table » in terms of a U. S. response.
In a first, North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload that flew over U. S. ally Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean.
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8: 40 p.m.
The U. S. ambassador to the U. N.’s forum on disarmament says North Korea’s missile test over Japan is of « great concern » but fits a « pattern » by the reclusive regime.
Robert Wood urged the international community to « speak out early and often » against such saber-rattling by Pyongyang. He was speaking ahead of a plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament, also attended by North Korea’s ambassador.
Wood told reporters that « we still need to do further analysis » of the missile firing before commenting fully on its impact.
During Tuesday’s session, envoys from countries including Japan, South Korea and European Union member states condemned North Korea’s firing of the midrange ballistic missile, which is designed to carry a nuclear payload, over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and into the northern Pacific Ocean.
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8: 20 p.m.
The foreign ministers of Russia and the United Arab Emirates are both calling for North Korea to obey United Nations resolutions after Pyongyang launched ballistic missiles over Japan.
Sergey Lavrov and his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, made the comments during a news conference on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the UAE.
Lavrov’s trip was to focus in part on the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Qatar and Arab states now boycotting it. But that never came up before the journalists.
Lavrov said that « North Korea should respect the United Nations. »
Sheikh Abdullah said that « the situation cannot continue to escalate between North Korea on one side and Japan and South Korea on the other. North Korea cannot continue to disregard the U. N. Security Council resolutions and the U. N.’s call to stop its provocations. »
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7: 35 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for a tough international stance against North Korea after its latest missile launch to push it toward negotiations.
In a diplomatic speech in Paris, Macron expressed support for Japan in its concern over the missile fired over Japanese territory Tuesday.
Macron urged « intransigent » policies toward Pyongyang to avoid further escalation, and said France is ready to do « everything possible … to bring Pyongyang to the table. » He did not elaborate.
The North Korean midrange ballistic missile fired Tuesday was designed to carry a nuclear payload and sends a clear message of defiance as Washington and Seoul conduct war games nearby.
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2 p.m.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he had a 40-minute phone chat with President Donald Trump in which they analyzed North Korea’s latest missile launch and what action to take.
Abe said in a statement, « Japan’s and the U. S. positions are totally at one. »
Both nations were in « total agreement » that an emergency meeting was needed at the U. N. Security Council to step up pressures on North Korea after what he called an unprecedented threat
Abe also said « President Trump expressed his strong commitment to defending Japan, saying he was 100 percent with Japan as an ally. »
Abe reiterated he believes that stepping up pressure on North Korea is needed.
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12: 30 p.m.
Indonesia, one of the few nations to have decades of cordial relations with North Korea, has condemned its launch of a missile that flew over Japan. The Philippines, this year’s chairman of meetings of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has also expressed grave concern, urging Pyongyang to halt such provocative actions.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the missile test is inconsistent with North Korea’s international obligations.
