Upper House protests N. Korea’s ICBM firing

December 4, 2017

Tokyo- The House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, adopted on Monday a resolution strongly protesting North Korea's firing of an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile last Wednesday.

The missile launch showed that North Korea remains determined to continue its nuclear and missile development programs, the resolution said, adding that it represents a direct provocation against the international community that can never be permitted.

Military provocations by the reclusive country are an unprecedentedly grave and imminent threat to the region including Japan, it said, demanding that Pyongyang fully comply with its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The resolution, adopted at an Upper House plenary meeting, also urged the Japanese government to thoroughly implement and tighten the country's own sanctions against North Korea.

"We'll conduct diplomacy in a resolute manner and unite with the international community in maximizing pressure on North Korea in order to change the country's policy," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after the passage of the resolution.

"Under the strong Japan-U.S. alliance, we'll remain on high alert and do all we can to ensure the security of the Japanese people," he added.

The House of Representatives, the lower chamber, is expected to pass a similar resolution at a plenary meeting on Tuesday.

The missile is believed to have fallen into Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, at a point off the northeastern prefecture of Aomori, after traveling a distance of about 960 kilometers. It apparently reached an altitude of some 4,500 kilometers.

North Korea has claimed success for the test-firing of its newly developed ICBM, called the Hwasong-15. Jiji Press