WASHINGTON, October 31. /TASS/. The US administration believes that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s latest missile launch fuels tensions and carries destabilization risks for the region, White House’s National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in a statement.
"The United States strongly condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) intercontinental ballistic missile test," he said. "While US INDOPACOM (Indo-Pacific Command) has assessed it did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, or territory, or to our allies, this launch needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region."
The White House believes that the launch is "a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions."
Washington called upon other countries to condemn North Korea’s actions and call on the DPRK to cease its destabilizing actions and engage in serious dialogue.
Spokespersons for the White House, the Department of State and the Department of Defense of the United States have not yet replied to a TASS request for a comment.
Earlier, Japanese and South Korean sources reported that DPRK launched a projectile, presumed to be a ballistic missile, in the early hours of October 31. It has reached the all-time high altitude of over 7,000 km, spending record 86 minutes in flight, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said. According to his ministry’s preliminary estimates, the projectile splashed down around 300 km west of Japan’s Okushiri Island, outside of the country’s exclusive economic zone.