PH condemns NKorea for raising tensions in Indo-Pacific with latest missile launch

A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on July 1, 2024. North Korea on July 1, launched two ballistic missiles, South Korea's military confirmed -- the latest in a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang that have soured relations with Seoul. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines condemned North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch, which provoked tensions in the region, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles on Monday but one of them possibly flew abnormally, according to the South Korea's military.

In a statement, the DFA said it "undermined economic progress, peace, and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the lndo-Pacific region."

The Philippines has repeatedly called on North Korea to also "comply with its international obligations" and the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, the DFA said.

The Foreign Affairs Department said the Philippines also urged North Korea "to commit to constructive and peaceful dialogue with the Republic of Korea (or South Korea)."

"The Philippines has consistently supported the call for a complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," the DFA said.

North Korea vowed "offensive and overwhelming" responses to a new United States military drill with South Korea and Japan.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the missiles were launched 10 minutes apart in a northeasterly direction from the town of Jangyon in southeastern North Korea.It said the first missile flew 600 kilometers (370 miles) and the second missile 120 kilometers (75 miles), but didn't say where they landed.

North Korea typically test-fires missiles toward its eastern waters, but the second missile's flight distance was too short to reach those waters, the AP reported.