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China slams North Korea's missile launch as violation of UNSC resolutions

The UN Security Council’s resolutions ban any activity of North Korea linked to developing nuclear weapons and means of its delivery, but Pyongyang does not recognize these documents

© AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

BEIJING, May 22. /TASS/. China’s authorities condemn North Korean authorities’ move to order another missile launch on Sunday in violation of resolutions of the UN Security Council, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters on Monday.

TENSIONS ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA

"China is against North Korea’s violation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions by its missile launches as the situation (in the region) is complex and ambiguous," the diplomat said.

All parties concerned should show cold blood and avoid provocations that may lead to the escalation of tensions. The spokesperson stressed that Beijing is always ready to show active assistance to normalizing the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea launched the Pukgukson-2 ballistic missile on Sunday and it flew about 500 kilometers towards the Sea of Japan. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un personally supervised the launch. This came a week after a successive launch of a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile on May 14, which flew 787 km and fell into the Sea of Japan, and its altitude reached 2,111 km.

The Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim Jong-un was very satisfied with the launch and ordered to begin serial production of this type of missile for North Korea’s strategic forces.

The UN Security Council’s resolutions ban any activity of North Korea linked to developing nuclear weapons and means of its delivery, but Pyongyang does not recognize these documents, stressing that the country has the right to enhance its defence capacity amid Washington’s hostile policy.

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