PH tells NoKor to cease missile tests amid latest launch

FILE: The Department of Foreign Affairs Building along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, which used to be the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank. (Photo By Lawrence Ruiz, CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Philippine government called on North Korea to “immediately cease” its missile tests amid its latest launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Nov. 5.

In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reiterated that these “provocative actions” undermine the economic progress and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the wider Indo-Pacific region.

“The Philippines expresses serious concern and strongly denounces the continuing ballistic missile launches conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” it said.

“We reiterate our call for the DPRK to immediately cease these activities and abide by all international obligations, including relevant UN (United Nations) Security Council Resolutions, and to commit to peaceful and constructive dialogue,” it added.

North Korea conducted the ballistic missile tests less than a week after claiming it successfully test-fired the new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile, which if fired at a normal angle is theoretically capable of reaching the US mainland.

Echoing hopes for a “lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the DFA joined calls for the “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization” of North Korea.