South Korean president orders national security council meeting

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday ordered the convening of a national security council meeting at the presidential Blue House after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-launched a ballistic missile earlier in the day. (Photo: 문재인/ Facebook)

SEOUL— South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday ordered the convening of a national security council meeting at the presidential Blue House after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-launched a ballistic missile earlier in the day.

Presidential spokesman Park Su-hyun told a press briefing that President Moon issued the order after receiving a report from Chung Eui-yong, who was appointed earlier in the day as top presidential security advisor.

The national security council meeting, which started at about 6:00 p.

m. local time (0900 GMT), was chaired by Chung who leads the National Security Office of the Blue House.

According to local media reports, Moon currently stayed in his private home in the country’s southeastern region and was scheduled to be on a one-day leave Monday to plan a future state management.

The DPRK fired an unidentified ballistic missile from Pukchang in the north of the country’s capital Pyongyang at about 4:59 p.m. local time (0759 GMT), according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It flew about 500 kilometers and landed in waters off the DPRK’s east coast. The South Korean military has been analyzing the details of the ballistic missile.

The Japanese government also confirmed the test-launch.

The missile has fallen into the Sea of Japan but outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, said Japan’s top government spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

He also said that Japan strongly protests against the DPRK’s latest missile launch and is currently gathering information about the launch.