Seoul has denounced North Korea for its missile launch on Monday.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a statement, expressing its "strong denouncement" of the North's latest move. 

Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in the statement that the missile launch is a clear violation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions, calling it a serious threat to the peace and safety of the Korean Peninsula and the world.

While pointing out that the latest launch marked the ninth test firing of a ballistic missile by the North just this year alone, the statement said the North’s repeated provocations run counter to South Korea’s demand for the denuclearization and peace of the Korean Peninsula. 

It also said the North is refusing a concerted will by the international community to have the regime abandon its nuclear program, as was reaffirmed through the final statement of the G7 Summit on May 27th.

The statement then called on the North to immediately suspend its provocative acts and swiftly take the path to denuclearization.

It also said the South Korean government will not accept any North Korean provocations, adding it will protect the security of South Korea and the lives of the South Korean public by maintaining a readiness posture based on a solid South Korea-U.S. alliance. 

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