North Korea launches ballistic missile into sea, G7 condemns

North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast on Saturday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed.

The North Korea on Friday threatened an ‘unprecedented persistent, strong’ response as South Korea and the United States gear up for annual military exercises as part of efforts to fend off the North’s growing nuclear and missile threats.

Meanwhile, South Korea denounced the launch as a ‘clear breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.’ Following a lunch, South Korea’s National Security Council convened a meeting and agreed to increase cooperation on security with Washington and Japan.

Additionally, the Group of Seven Foreign minister condemned the launch and called for a unified response from the international community.

“This act is in blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), and threatens regional and international peace and security,” the foreign ministers said in a statement after meeting on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich.