North Korean missile: France calls for ‘strong and unified response from the international community’

How to respond to the provocations of North Korea? It is difficult to go beyond public condemnation. Friday’s launch by North Korea of ​​an intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) that fell off the coast of Japan “requires a firm and unified response from the international community,” a French foreign ministry spokeswoman responded.

“This new violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning North Korea from launching any type of ballistic technology launch is a “new provocation” that “poses a serious threat to regional stability and international security,” the statement said. .

France calls for ‘total renunciation process’

Tokyo said the missile traveled about 1,000 km and that Japan did not attempt to destroy it in flight. Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the projectile reached a maximum altitude of 6,000 km, concluding that it was an “intercontinental ballistic missile class” ballistic missile, one of the most powerful in North Korea’s arsenal. “A ballistic missile launched by North Korea appears to have hit our exclusive economic zone off Hokkaido,” a large island in the north of the Japanese archipelago, said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, denouncing the “totally unacceptable” shelling.

Hours later, Japan’s defense ministry said it had conducted joint military exercises with the United States immediately after the shooting. These maneuvers “reaffirm the firm will of Japan and the United States to respond to any situation (…) and further strengthen the containment and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance,” the ministry said in a statement.

“France calls on North Korea to honor its commitment without delay and begin the process of complete, verifiable and irreversible renunciation of its nuclear and ballistic programs,” the Quai d’Orsay continues in a press release. It is fully mobilized with its partners to ensure the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. »