UPDATE 2 - N.Korean Projectile Launch Threatens Security Of Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2023) The launch by North Korea of a projectile, believed to be a ballistic missile, threatens the security of Japan and the entire region, Tokyo has expressed a strong protest, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday.

"North Korea launched what is believed to be a ballistic missile... This is in violation of UN Security Council resolutions' provisions and poses a threat to the security of Japan, the region and the international community. We condemn such actions and have sent a strong protest to North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing," Matsuno said.

He said the projectile fired by the DPRK disappeared from radars over the Yellow Sea and did not reach an altitude sufficient to enter space.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry's Director-General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs, Takehiro Funakoshi, held phone consultations with US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn to discuss Pyongyang's launch with the use of ballistic missiles technologies.

"The sides discussed the use of ballistic missile technologies by North Korea and assessed the situation. The sides confirmed the unity of understanding that North Korea's launch of ballistic missiles with unprecedented frequency poses a serious and immediate threat to the regional security and is a direct and serious challenge to the global community," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also said that the parties agreed to "remain vigilant and reaffirmed the close cooperation of Japan, the United States and South Korea in strengthening regional security," including deterrence and response forces, as well as the cooperation with partner countries.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the failed launch by North Korea and said that any launch of missiles using ballistic missiles technology contradicted the United Nations Security Council's resolutions, his press office said on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, North Korea's state-run Korean Central news Agency (KCNA) reported that Pyongyang's National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) unsuccessfully launched the Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite mounted on the Chollima-1 carrier rocket at 6:27 a.m. local time. After the separation of the first stage, the engine of the second stage failed to ignite, causing the rocket to lose thrust and fall into the Yellow Sea, the report said.

On Monday, North Korea reportedly informed the International Maritime Organization that it planned to launch a satellite between May 31 and June 11.