BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and more countries responded on Wednesday and Thursday to the missile test-firing by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which confirmed missile launches on Thursday.

    Defense and intelligence officials in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington were quoted by media as saying that the DPRK test-fired six missiles of different ranges on Wednesday morning.

    NATO on Wednesday called for "a firm response from the international community" after the DPRK carried out missile tests.     

    The DPRK's "development, deployment and proliferation" of ballistic missiles and related materials "pose a serious threat" to the region and the world at large, the 26-member military alliance said in a statement.

    Expressing "grave concern" over the missile launches, it said that the DPRK's "missile programs and provocative actions necessitate a firm response from the international community."

    NATO supports efforts to "address this matter broadly," including at the United Nations Security Council, it said.

    It urged the DPRK to immediately cease the development of long-range missiles, to return to the six-party talks "without precondition" and to "completely and verifiably eliminate its nuclear weapons and related programs."

    The United States said on Wednesday that it would not hold direct talks with the DPRK over the latter's missile launches.

    "This is not a U.S.-North Korea issue, and we are not going to permit the leader of North Korea to transform it into that," White House spokesman Tony Snow said at a briefing.

    "What we are doing is trying to figure out the proper way to move forward in dealing with North Korea," Snow said, adding that the key point is to figure out a diplomatic way to get the DPRK to step back and to rejoin the six-party talks.

    Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday urged Pyongyang to return to negotiations and weigh up the benefits of abandoning its nuclear program.

    Howard told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio that if the DPRK is prepared to sit down for talks and prepared to give up its nuclear ambitions, then there will be guarantees of energy security and assistance.

    He said he supports an action by the United Nations Security Council which is considering how to respond to DPRK's missile tests.

    In its reaction on Wednesday, Vietnam called for regional restraint.

    "We hope all relevant parties would exercise extreme restraint and seek peaceful solutions, thus contributing to maintaining peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world," Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said.

    Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said on Wednesday that he was "deeply disturbed and very concerned" over the DPRK's missile tests, according to Italian News Agency ANSA.

    "Pyongyang's actions will certainly complicate the current deadlock in negotiations regarding North Korea's nuclear potential to which Italy has offered and will continue to offer its contribution," D'Alema said.

    Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht issued a statement on Wednesday, calling Pyongyang's missile tests "a dangerous provocation."

    The statement also said the missile tests would considerably increase tension in the region and pose a serious threat to peace.

    De Gucht urged the DPRK to respect the existing international agreements, which prohibit it from launching long-range missiles. He also called for economic and above all, political sanctions, to be taken against the DPRK.

    For its part, Bulgaria voiced "serious concerns" on Wednesday over the DPRK's missile launches, and strongly condemned such "provocative" actions.

    The launches not only threaten security in the region but also undermine the efforts of the international community in achieving an acceptable agreement on the DPRK's nuclear program, a statement issued by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said.

    Bulgaria would continue to support the efforts of the international community in finding a peaceful and comprehensive solution to all security issues on the Korean Peninsula, the statement said.

    Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed Thursday over phone talks that their countries would work together on a UN resolution on the DPRK, Kyodo News reported.

    Koizumi and Bush will seek to adopt a UN resolution to impose sanctions over the DPRK's missile launches, the report said, quoting an unnamed Japanese official. Enditem