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![Kim Jong Un has since 2013 promised to carry out a test of a nuclear warhead. On Wednesday, North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in the direction of Japan [Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/northkorea3.jpg)
Kim Jong Un has since 2013 promised to carry out a test of a nuclear warhead. On Wednesday, North Korea fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in the direction of Japan [Xinhua]
During their 8th trilateral ministerial meeting, and the first since the leaders of the three nations met approximately one year ago, they urged Pyongyang to stop its provocative acts and to adhere to United Nations resolutions.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap Agency, North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) at around 5:30 am that flew about 500 kilometers and fell into Japanese waters.
While the meeting was primarily to promote East Asian economic cooperation, the missile test brought security issues to the forefront.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the missile launch “simply cannot be tolerated,” while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Wednesday that this provocation is “difficult to forgive.”
The United Nations Security Council will reportedly hold a closed-door meeting later on Wednesday at the request of the US and Japan to discuss the missile launch.
Wednesday’s launch marked the sixth time that North Korea has tested its SLBM capabilities after its first attempt in May 2015 and the third launch of its kind this year.
Pyongyang is believed to be acting in retaliation over joint military drills between its South Korean neighbor and the US which began on Monday.
It has previously urged Seoul to ‘cancel’ what it believes are ‘war games’. However, South Korea continues to maintain that these exercises are of a defensive nature.
The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills are held annually and involve 25,000 US troops and 50,000 South Korean personnel rehearsing reactions to a number of scenarios, the Associated Press reports.
Earlier this year, Pyongyang faced tightened sanctions by the Security Council after carrying out a nuclear test in January and launching a long-range rocket in February.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
