THE Philippines on Thursday expressed “grave concern” following North Korea’s missile launches near the eastern port city of Wonsan on May 21 and May 29.
“The Philippines expresses grave concern on the DPRK’s [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], missile launches on May 21 and May 29 which were carried out in defiance of repeated warnings by the international community,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.
“The Philippines notes with alarm the increasing frequency of ballistic missile launches by [the] DPRK. We underscore the need for [the] DPRK to comply with its international obligations under relevant UNSC resolutions, and call for the recommencement of constructive dialogue to defuse tensions in the region.” The DFA has yet to respond to North Korea’s latest launch of four antiship missiles into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Thursday.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the projectiles were believed to be surface-to-ship cruise missiles and were launched near the eastern port city of Wonsan.
The latest launch was the ninth missile test Pyongyang has conducted this year, the first being the test-firing of a Pukguksong-2 missile over the Sea of Japan, the first launch of the new medium-range ballistic missile.
These flurry of missile launches has forced the United States, Seoul’s close ally, to send THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system in South Korea — designed to intercept incoming missiles from North Korea
“U.S. Forces Korea confirms the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense [THAAD] system is operational and has the ability to intercept North Korean missiles and defend the Republic of the Korea,” said Col. Rob Manning, US Forces Korea spokesman in a statement.
On Wednesday, however, the newly elected South Korean president said that the ongoing deployment of the THAAD system should be suspended pending a complete environmental impact assessment of the system.