The Japanese people woke up Tuesday morning to the shocking news North Korea had fired
a missile over Hokkaido.
Tokyo was quick to condemn the launch, calling it a grave and serious threat.
Together with South Korea and the U.S., they have called for an emergency UN Security Council
meeting to try and pile more pressure on the regime.
Kwon Jang-ho has this report.
Residents of Hokkaido woke up to the sounds of emergency sirens on Tuesday morning, warning
that a missile had been fired from North Korea and could hit areas nearby.
Luckily the missile was never a threat, heading way out into the Pacific Ocean.
However, it was still the first time a North Korean rocket had flown over Japanese territory
since 2012, and Tokyo was quick to condemn it, calling it an egregious threat to the
peace and stability of the Asia Pacific region.
(Japanese) Reuters 2100 "We have lodged a strong protest with North
Korea to that effect.
I call for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council... and we will demand
even stronger measures against North Korea."
Abe later held a 40-minute phone call with President Trump, who assured the Japanese
Prime Minister that the U.S. was 100-percent with Japan.
A senior Tokyo official also told Kyodo News that the two leaders agreed that the time
is not right for dialogue with Pyongyang and that increased pressure is needed.
South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-hwa also made a call to Washington and spoke with
her U.S. counter-part Rex Tillerson.
The two sides are said to have expressed their disappointment toward the regime's actions,
and pledged to continue working closely together to tackle the North Korea threat, including
at the U.N.
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have jointly requested an emergency meeting of the U.N.
Security Council.
It's set to convene later on Tuesday, and three allies are likely to call for further
pressure on the rogue state.
However, China and Russia, North Korea's closest allies, are likely to push for dialogue.
Sergei Ryabkov, Moscow's deputy foreign minister, said on Tuesday that sanctions had reached
their limits, and that only a diplomatic solution was the answer.
Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News.
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