North Korea described as “a flagrant menace for far too long” following latest missile launch

The launch was described by South Korean president Moon Jae-in as “a severe challenge to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the world”.

Another ballistic missile test has been carried out by North Korea only a matter of weeks after a test missile failed within seconds of being deployed and only a matter of days after a newly-elected president, Moon Jae-in, took office in South Korea. According to the BBC, Japanese officials said that the missile, which was launched in Kusong in the north west of the country, reached an altitude of 2,000km and flew for a distance of around 700km before landing approximately 95km south of Russia's Vladivostok region. The missile launch is the latest in a series of launches by North Korea this year and has only served to escalate tension between North Korea and a number of countries. Yoon Young-chan, a spokesperson for Moon Jae-in, said that the South Korean president described it as a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and said that it was “a severe challenge to the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the world”. In a statement released by the White House, meanwhile, North Korea was described as a “flagrant menace for far too long”, while President Donald Trump said that he “cannot imagine Russia is pleased” by the missile landing so close to Russian territory. The White House statement reiterated the United States’ “ironclad commitment to stand with our allies in the face of the serious threat posed by North Korea” and called for “all nations to implement far stronger sanctions against North Korea”.