Japanese Prime Minister regrets Pyongyang's launch
Hong Kong. January 5th. INTERFAX - South Korea's National Security Council expressed concern on Wednesday over North Korea's launch of a suspected ballistic missile and called for the resumption of talks to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula.
"The members of the council expressed concern about the launch made by North Korea at a time when the stability of the situation at home and abroad is very important," the South Korean presidential administration said in a statement.
It is noted that the members of the council also stressed the need to resume negotiations with the DPRK to ease tensions.
At the same time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said it was regrettable that North Korea had repeatedly launched missiles since last year.
He said that the government will increase vigilance. According to him, he instructed officials to do everything possible to collect, analyze information and quickly provide it to the public.
"We will quickly provide the Japanese people with the necessary information, making every effort to collect and analyze it," Japanese media quoted Kishida as saying.
The Prime Minister also added that he had ordered officials to take careful measures to ensure the safety of aircraft and ships, as well as carefully prepare for unexpected events.
Earlier, the South Korean military reported that the North launched a missile to the east at about 8:10 (2:10 Moscow time) from a ground platform.
The Japanese Coast Guard reported that a possible ballistic missile fell into the sea at 8:23 a.m. local time (2:23 a.m. Moscow time).
