SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Sunday condemned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its test-launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which was seen as ending in a failure.
Seoul's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the DPRK's launch of a mid-range ballistic missile violated UN Security Council resolutions regardless of whether the launch succeeded or not.
The statement said Seoul strongly denounced Pyongyang's repeated provocations, which posed grave threat to peace and security on the Korean peninsula as well as in the entire international society.
According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the DPRK fired what is believed to be a Musudan missile, which can strike U.S. military base in Guam, on Saturday afternoon from northwestern DPRK.
The launch appeared to have failed as it exploded soon after the liftoff, the JCS said.
The DPRK is forecast to attempt another launch of a Musudan missile as the latest test failed. After several botched attempts, Pyongyang conducted its first successful launch of the missile on June 22, flying as high as 1,413.6 km and traveling about 400 km.
The foreign ministry said the DPRK provocation was a challenge to the UN authority as it was conducted amid the ongoing consultations among UN Security Council members over fresh resolutions over Pyongyang's fifth nuclear test.
The DPRK said on Sept. 9 that it successfully detonated a nuclear warhead that can be mounted on ballistic missiles. The fifth test came just eight months after the country's fourth atomic device test on Jan. 6.
The South Korean ministry said the DPRK's reckless act would only strengthen the international community's will to bring sanctions and pressure toward Pyongyang, urging the DPRK to realize a fact that such provocation would deepen its isolation and economic difficulties.
