North Korea’s ballistic missile firing on Sunday was its first direct challenge to the international community since U. S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.<\/b>
GENEVA \u2013 North Korea said on Tuesday its missile launches were \u201cself-defence measures\u201d, rejecting U. N. Security Council criticism of its weekend test, but the United States demanded international action against Pyongyang\u2019s weapons programs.
North Korea\u2019s ballistic missile firing on Sunday was its first direct challenge to the international community since U. S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.
The missile had a range of more than 2,000 kms (1,240 miles), according to South Korea\u2019s intelligence agency. It reached an altitude of about 550 km and flew about 500 km towards Japan before splashing into the sea east of the Korean peninsula.
The U. N. Security Council on Monday denounced the launch, urging members to \u201credouble efforts\u201d to enforce sanctions against the reclusive state, but gave no indications of any action it might take.
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Han Tae Song, the new Ambassador of the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations in Geneva, addressed the U. N.-backed Conference on Disarmament a day after taking up his post.
\u201cThe various test fires conducted by DPRK for building up self-defense capabilities are, with no exception, self-defense measures to protect national sovereignty and the safety of the people against direct threats by hostile forces,\u201d Han told the 61-member-state forum.
WATCH: President Donald Trump says the United States will deal with North Korea very strongly. Trump was addressing security concerns facing the U. S. both nationally and internationally.
\u201cMy delegation strongly rejects the latest statement of the U. N. Security Council and all U. N. resolutions against my country.\u201d
U. S. Ambassador Robert Wood said: \u201cAll efforts to advance North Korea\u2019s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities must cease,\u201d adding: \u201cIf ever there were a situation that called for international collective action to ensure our mutual security, it is this.\u201d
RESTRAINT
China, North Korea\u2019s main ally, said the missile launch violated Security Council resolutions but called on all parties to \u201cexercise restraint\u201d. The way to defuse the situation was through dialogue, China said, calling for a return to talks.
U. S., Japanese and South Korean military officials held a teleconference on Monday in which they condemned the launch as \u201ca clear violation\u201d of multiple Security Council resolutions. The United States \u201creaffirmed its iron-clad security commitments\u201d to South Korea and Japan, the Pentagon said.
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Han said the divided Korean peninsula \u201cremains the world\u2019s biggest hotspot with a constant danger of war\u201d. He condemned joint military exercises carried out annually by South Korea and the United States, as well as what he called \u201cnuclear threats\u201d and blackmail towards his country.
\u201cIt is the legitimate self-defense right of the sovereign state to possess strong deterrence to cope with such threat by hostile forces aimed at overthrowing the state and the socialist system,\u201d he said.
South Korea\u2019s Ambassador Choi Kyong-lim said the test showed \u201cthe unreasonable nature of the DPRK and their fanatical obsession with the pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles\u201d. Japan\u2019s disarmament Ambassador Nobushige Takamizawa urged Pyongyang not to take further \u201cprovocative actions\u201d that undermine peace and security in the region.<\/p>\n