G7 FMs Condemn N.Korea's Launch of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

The foreign ministers(FMs) of the Group of Seven (G7) (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) and the High Representative of the European Union condemned in the strongest terms North Korea's launch last Thursday of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which undermines regional and international peace and security.

In a statement, the ministers said that since last year, North Korea has intensified its escalatory actions with a record number of ballistic missile launches and continued irresponsible and destabilizing rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons.

It is worth mentioning that, South Korea condemns a series of recent ballistic missile launches by North Korea, calling them a "clear violation" of a United Nations Security Council resolution. The launches also drew criticism from Japan and the United States.

North Korea on Thursday launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, hours before the South Korean president heads to Tokyo for a summit discussing ways to counter North Korea.

Pyongyang said on Thursday that the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile was a warning about the ongoing military exercises between the United States and South Korea, according to the official KCNA news agency.