The presidential office has strongly condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, which it calls a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and an act of running counter to international calls for peace and stability.
 
The top office issued the censure on Wednesday during a regular session of its National Security Council presided over by National Security Advisor Suh Hoon.
 
Regarding North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile from the Sunan area in Pyongyang earlier in the day, the council called on the North to cease acts that pose a serious threat to the Korean Peninsula and the international community. It urged Pyongyang to promptly return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead.
 
The presidential office pledged to ensure national security and respond sternly to any threat based on strong defense capabilities and the solid South Korea-U.S. alliance, ahead of the inauguration of a new government on May 10.
 
It also said South Korea will continue to take necessary measures through close cooperation with involved countries including the U.S. and the international community.
 
On top of Pyongyang’s ballistic missile launch, the council members reportedly discussed signs of the communist regime’s nuclear test.