North Korea conducts another ballistic test launch

By Azernews

Pyongyang has conducted its first ballistic test launch in two months which renewed tensions in the region.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on November 29, during which it will discuss the recent missile test conducted by North Korea.

The meeting will be held at 4:30 pm New York time, according to the U.S. Permanent Mission to the global organization, TASS reported.

The U.S., Japan and South Korea requested the meeting to be held “in response to North Korea's latest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.”

It was North Korea’s 20th launch of a ballistic missile this year, and possibly its third successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile following two launches in July.

The missile was reported to have flown for 50 minutes on a very high trajectory, reaching 4,500 km above the earth before coming down nearly 1,000 km from the launch site off the west coast of Japan, according to the South Korean Chiefs of Staff Committee.

This is the first missile launch carried out by North Korea since September 15. Since then, for 75 days, Pyongyang has refrained from military provocations.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg strongly condemned the missile tests and said that they undermine regional and international security.

He again urged the country to “refrain from further provocations and abandon nuclear and missile programs.”

“North Korea should return to a credible and meaningful dialogue with the international community,” the NATO Secretary General said in a statement.

The UN secretariat said that they are concerned about the missile tests conducted by North Korea. In turn, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Washington condemns the actions of Pyongyang, and also believes that the crisis around North Korea can still be resolved through diplomacy.

The UN Security Council resolutions prohibit the country from any activities related to the development of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery. Pyongyang does not recognize these documents, arguing that the country has every right to strengthen its defenses against the backdrop of Washington's current hostile policy.

The active phase of the crisis on the Korean peninsula began in August 2017, when Pyongyang tested ballistic missiles and announced the successful testing of the hydrogen bomb.

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously imposed a set of sanctions against North Korea on September 11 over the country’s hydrogen bomb test which was conducted on September 3.

The sanctions included limits on import of crude oil and oil products, a ban on textile exports and new visas for North Korean oversees workers.