Seoul, Jan 31 (Agency) South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, Noh Kyu-duk has discussed North Korea’s latest missile test with Takehiro Funakoshi, the head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, as well as US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim, the South Korean Foreign MInistry informs. Noh Kyu-duk and Sung Kim characterised the test launch as a “challenge to UN Security Council resolutions” and agreed to continue efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea.
Noh Kyu-duk also agreed to continue close contact with Takehiro Funakoshi, for the sake of resuming talks with Pyongyang and maintaining “stable control over the situation.” North Korea has confirmed that it launched the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile on Sunday, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency. The South Korean military said that the missile was fired from North Korea’s Jagang Province toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and flew about 800 km (497 miles) with the maximum altitude reaching 2,000 km (1,243 miles). On Sunday, the same estimates were given by Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who said that the missile fell outside of Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone after around 30 minutes of flight. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not attend the Sunday test-firing, according to Yonhap.
The launch of the Hwasong-12 missile, which has a range of 4,500 kilometers (2,796 miles), is North Korea’s longest-range missile test since the test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November 2017. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said following North Korea’s Sunday launch that the US is ready to sit down at the negotiating table with Pyongyang, but will still continue to build up its military potential in the region to protect itself and its allies.