UN chief condemns North Korea missile launch over Japan

By Canberk Yuksel

NEW YORK (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the latest launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea in violation of Security Council resolutions.

"The launch undermines regional security and stability and efforts to create space for dialogue," according to an email Guterres' office sent to Anadolu Agency.

"The Secretary-General calls on the Government of the DPRK to fully comply with its international obligations and work towards reopening communication channels," it added, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The isolated autocratic country on Monday fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in two decades, exasperating its neighbors and the United States.

The projectile flew around 2,700 kilometers (1,678 miles) and "passed through the sky over Japan", according to a statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The UN will hold a closed-door emergency meeting later Tuesday, U.S. envoy to the global body Nikki Haley told reporters.

"What happened yesterday is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible," Haley said. "We are going to talk about what is left to do to North Korea. No country should have missiles flying over them like those 130 million people in Japan ,,, I think enough is enough."

Hours after the launch U.S. President Donald Trump said Pyongyang "has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior.

"Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world," Trump said in a statement. "All options are on the table."