SEOUL, September 18. /TASS/. South Korea, through pressure, will force North Korea to abandon its nuclear missile program, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday.
In his video address to the delegates of the forum in Seoul involving representatives of the commands of armed forces of Asian-Pacific countries, he said:
"North Korea should realize that dialogue and cooperation, not missiles and atomic bombs, are the only way to ensure its security and guarantee a better tomorrow," he stressed.
Moon Jae-in noted that Seoul will seek "severe punishment" for Pyongyang's missile provocations, as well as the continuing development of weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery.
"By doing so, we will not leave any other way to the North than to abandon nuclear and missile weapons," he said.
According to the South Korean leader, the DPRK's steps are "at the moment the most serious and urgent security issue in the region."
On September 15, North Korea fired another ballistic missile, which flew over Japan’s Hokkaido Island and plunged into the Pacific Ocean about 2,200 kilometers east of Cape Erimo. Since 1998, it is the sixth North Korean missile to fly over Japan. According to the US and South Korean military, the missile was launched from the Pyongyang area. The missile flew about 3,700 kilometers reaching an altitude of 770 kilometers.
North Korea held another launch of a ballistic missile that flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido toward the Pacific Ocean and fell about 2,000 km east of Cape Erimo. According to the South Korean and US armed forces, the launch was carried out from the Pyongyang area.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution that toughened sanctions against the DPRK after its sixth nuclear test on September 3.