German MFA condemns North Korea's missile launch

The German Foreign Ministry strongly condemned North Korea's missile launch and called on Pyongyang to refrain from further tests, a representative of the German Foreign Ministry told journalists, Report informs.

"We strongly condemn North Korea's illegal launch of a long-range ballistic missile on December 18, as well as the launch of a short-range ballistic missile the day before. With these missile launches, North Korea once again grossly violates the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, irresponsibly escalates tensions in the region, and threatens regional and international peace," the German Foreign Ministry said.

"We urge North Korea to refrain from further tests, fully comply with the decisions of the UN Security Council, accept the proposals of the United States and South Korea for negotiations and begin serious negotiations on reducing its nuclear and missile programs," the German Foreign Ministry concluded.

According to the estimates of the Japanese Defense Ministry, the intercontinental ballistic missile launched by the DPRK on Monday was in flight for 73 minutes and during this time covered a distance of 1 thousand km with a maximum flight altitude of 6 thousand km. When launched on a conventional trajectory, its range can exceed 15,000 km, which covers the entire territory of the United States.

The area where the missile crashed is located outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, 250 km west of Okushiri Island, located about 20 km off the coast of Hokkaido.