PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned on Monday, December 18, 2023, North Korea’s firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan.
Marcos joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in condemning the act, saying it threatens and destabilizes the region and the world.
“We join Japan, together with the rest of the Asean, in condemning the continued threat that the launching [of] ballistic missiles by the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] represents,” he said.
He made the remarks prior to his speech during the meeting of Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec) leaders at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, Japan as part of the 50th Commemorative Asean-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Summit.
“As we speak on economic progress in our region, we found these aspirations on a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific Region. So, such dangerous and provocative actions by the DPRK threaten and destabilize the region and the world,” he said.
North Korea fired on Sunday, December 17, a short-range ballistic missile into the sea, in a possible display of defiance against the latest steps by Washington and Seoul to tighten their nuclear deterrence plans against North Korean threats.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired from an area near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang around 10:38 p.m. and flew 570 kilometers (354 miles) before landing in the sea.
On Monday, December 18, North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test in five months, likely launching a developmental, more agile weapon, as it vows strong responses against US and South Korean moves to boost their nuclear deterrence plans.
The South Korean government described the missile tested as a solid fueled weapon, a likely reference to the North's road-mobile Hwasong-18 ICBM whose built-in solid propellants make its launch more difficult for adversaries to detect than liquid-fueled weapons.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un previously called the Hwasong-18 the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces.
South Korea's military said the North Korean missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
It said the missile was launched on an elevated angle, an apparent attempt to avoid neighboring countries.
Japanese lawmaker Masahisa Sato, citing Japan's Defense Ministry, said the missile rose as high as 6,000 kilometers (3,730 miles).
The reported flight details matched those of North Korea's second test of the Hwasong-18 missile in July. The North first test-fired the missile in April.
Since 2017, North Korea has carried out a slew of ICBM tests in a bid to acquire the ability to launch nuclear strikes on the US mainland. But all of its previous ICBM tests before April's Hwasong-18 launch involved liquid-propellent ICBMs, which need to be fueled before launch and cannot stay fueled for long periods of time. (LMY/AP)