US, allies term North Korea’s missile launch as provocative

The US today termed the long-range missile launch by North Korea as a “highly provocative act”, saying that it has threatened regional stability as American Aerospace command said the test marked an apparent technological success for the hermit nation.

“North Korea’s launch today — using ballistic missile technology despite express prohibitions by UN Security Council resolutions — is a highly provocative act and is yet another example of its pattern of irresponsible behaviour,” National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

“The US remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and fully committed to the security of our allies in the region,” he said.

The United Nations, Japan and South Korea also strongly reacted to the launch which came as something of a surprise after Pyongyang indicated that technical problems could delay the test.

China rapped its close ally North Korea over its long-range missile launch, demanding that Pyongyang comply with UN resolution against ballistic missiles.

Quoting a reaction from the country’s Foreign Ministry, official Xinhua news agency urged all nations in the region to exercise restraint.

North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), a joint US-Canadian agency which said it had monitored flight of the missile, said North Korea appeared to have successfully launched an object in orbit on a missile, marking a technological success for the nation.

NORAD Command officials said that the US missile warning systems detected and tracked the launch of the North Korean missile at 7:49 pm EST.

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