Moon says North Korea's missile provocation 'undesirable'

President Moon Jae-in speaks at the event marking the sixth anniversary of the Yellow Sea Defense Day at Pyongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap

President Moon Jae-in on Friday censured North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches, saying that military provocations by Pyongyang are "undesirable" amid efforts to revive stalled international negotiations on the North's nuclear program.

In his speech to a ceremony to mark the sixth anniversary of the Yellow Sea Defense Day held at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, Moon said that "actions providing difficulty for the mood for dialogue are undesirable."

"I'm aware the people are greatly concerned by the North's missile test-firings. Now is the time for South and North Korea and the United States to work to continue our dialogue," he added.

Moon stressed South Korea remains firm in its security readiness to combat any and all types of provocations.

The president's remarks came hours after Pyongyang confirmed its first launch of ballistic missiles in a year.

On Thursday, South Korea's military said the North fired what appeared to be two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from the country's eastern town of Hamju early in the morning.

It was the first ballistic missile firing by the North since the launch of the new Joe Biden administration in Washington and another violation of relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. (Yonhap)