The Yoon Suk Yeol administration has blasted North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launch on Friday, accusing the regime of augmenting tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.
 
In a statement released on Friday, the presidential office strongly condemned the launch as a flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions, saying that any activity by Pyongyang related to its nuclear and ballistic programs cannot be justified.
 
The statement said Seoul has the will and overwhelming capability to immediately retaliate against any threat and warned Pyongyang that it should not make an erroneous judgment.
 
The government also vowed to work closely with the UN and the international community based on discussions with the U.S. to hold the North accountable for its breach of resolutions, while further strengthening trilateral security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.
 
The top office also stressed that the North has nothing to gain from escalating its provocations, which will only further isolate the regime and prompt additional global sanctions, urging Pyongyang to stop such acts and respond to Seoul's aid-for-denuclearization proposal.