The international community has denounced, or is mulling tough responses to, Wednesday’s launch of two ballistic missiles by North Korea, one of which landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Hours after the North’s latest missile provocation, the United Nations Security Council(UNSC) convened an emergency session to discuss the incident.

The Security Council member states discussed a possible adoption of a media statement, but could not reach an early consensus on it.

It was allegedly due to the opposition from China and Russia, who have been opposed to the deployment of U.S. THAAD missile interceptors on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are said to have tried to persuade China and Russia to join the international efforts to condemn Pyongyang.

In its own response, the White House mentioned the possibility of seeking additional sanctions on the North.

Also on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, through his spokesman, urged North Korea to re-engage in dialogue with the international community, expressing concerns over the regime’s provocations.

The European Union(EU) also condemned North Korea in a statement, saying its latest action will serve no purpose other than to heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the peace and security of the wider region.

The German government also decided to summon North Korean ambassador to Germany to protest the North’s latest missile launches, while the British and French governments also urged the North to abide by the UNSC resolutions and to halt additional provocations.

According to the South Korean government, the North fired two ballistic missiles, presumed to be intermediate-range Nodong, at around 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday from South Hwanghae Province, located some 185 kilometers north of Seoul.

While one exploded shortly after launch, the other flew some one-thousand kilometers across the Korean Peninsula before it dropped in waters 250 kilometers west of Akita Prefecture of Japan.

It marked the first time a North Korean missile landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.