Philippines condemns N Korea’s rocket launch

The Philippine government condemned Wednesday the missile launch undertaken by the North Korea where some debris fell into the waters off Northern Luzon. “The Philippines strongly condemns the launch undertaken by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 12 December 2012,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The DFA said North Korea’s move “is in clear violation of UN (United Nations) Security Council Resolutions 1695 (2006), 1874 (2009) and 1718 (2006), which explicitly demanded DPRK not to use or conduct any launch using ballistic missile technology and the suspension of its ballistic missile programme.” “The Philippines firmly urges the DPRK to desist from acts of provocation and to end its use or testing of ballistic missile technology,” it added. “The Philippines joins other governments in urging the DPRK to undertake steps towards confidence-building and engagement with the international community in order to ensure peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the entire Asia Pacific region,” the statement ended.