Japan denounces North Korean launches, lodges protests

Japan lodged stern protests with North Korea on Wednesday denouncing its launches of what are believed to be two Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles from its east coast.

The acts are "a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and definitely cannot be condoned," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying.

Japan will "respond to the situation through coordination with the United States and South Korea," Abe said.

Following the first launch at around 5:57 a.m., the second launch came about two hours later at 8:03 a.m., according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. 

At least one of the launches appeared to have ended in failure.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani expressed "extreme regret" at the launches and called them a "grave provocative act" in light of international security.

Saying that the second missile is assessed to have reached an altitude of over 1,000 kilometers, the minister told reporters that the missile proved to possess a "degree of capability as an intermediate-range ballistic missile" and has thus become a cause of "deep concern" for Japan's security.

Source ; MENA