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Security Council May Meet at Request of Tokyo, Washington | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley delivers remarks at a Security Council in April at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York. Reuters


Seoul- Washington and Tokyo have requested the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting, which could be held today in New York, according to what Uruguay delegation has announced.

South Korea said on Monday it will send special envoys to the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and Germany to establish firmer ties as tensions mount on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of a missile launch by North Korea over the weekend, according to Reuters.

The envoys will meet with high-ranking officials to explain the new South Korean government’s policy plans and exchange opinions on how to develop bilateral relations, the presidential Blue House office said.

“We are calling on all of those folks in the region, particularly China and Russia, to do everything they can in terms of sanctions to help resolve the situation and bring stability to the Peninsula,” the White House said.

For its part, the US Treasury explained that it is considering all of its available tools to deny North Korea access to the international financial system to rein in its nuclear weapons and missile development programs.

In his first comments since a North Korean missile plunged into the sea off the Russian coast on Sunday, President Vladimir Putin condemned Pyongyang’s nuclear program as “harmful and dangerous,” but he added that the international community should respond with talks, not threats.

“I want to confirm that we are categorically against the expansion of the club of nuclear powers, including with the Korean peninsula and North Korea,” Putin said in a press conference in Beijing.

He urged other world leaders to “stop intimidating North Korea and find a peaceful solution to the problem.”

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that the launch was “absolutely unacceptable” and that Japan would respond resolutely.

“The launch of such ballistic missiles is a serious threat to our country,” Abe said, considering the action a grave threat to the region and a violation of UN resolutions on North Korea’s arms programs.

The US Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, confirmed the rocket launch but said the unidentified projectile did not appear to be large enough to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, saying only that the launch did not pose a threat to North America.

“Kim Jong-Un is in a state of paranoia, he’s incredibly concerned about anything and everything around him,” US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told ABC News.

The US Ambassador later tweeted: “There are no excuses that justify N. Korea’s actions. This was close to home for Russia. China can’t expect dialogue. This threat is real.”