UN to hold meeting on N. Korea missile launches

The U.N. Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss North Korea's latest firings of the Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile, a U.N. official said.

It is unusual for the council to hold an emergency meeting over intermediate-range missile launches. In past launches of the Musudan, the council issued a press statement without holding a meeting. That suggests the council is taking the latest launches seriously.

The North fired two Musudan missiles off its east coast early Wednesday in its fifth and sixth attempt to test the missile. The first one exploded in mid-air, but the second missile flew about 400 kilometers before landing in the East Sea in an indication of progress.

The United States has strongly condemned the launches and said it would raise the issue at the council to hold the North accountable for the provocative actions. Under a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the North is banned from conducting any ballistic activity.

France holds the rotating presidency at the council. French Ambassador to the U.N. Francois Delattre denounced the launches as an "unacceptable violation" of U.N. resolutions.

"We want a quick and firm reaction of the Security Council on this," the envoy was quoted as saying. "We hope that ... we'll have a press statement on this."

This year alone, the council has already adopted six press statements in response to North Korean provocations.

The North has test-launched the Musudan missile six times so far, beginning April 15. All but the sixth launch failed, with the missile exploding in midair or on a mobile launcher, or crashing seconds after launch.

The latest launches come a week before the North convenes its rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, and could be hailed as a key achievement of leader Kim Jong-un following the North's fourth nuclear test in January and February's long-range rocket launch. (Yonhap)