MOSCOW: The G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell have condemned the recent missile launch conducted by North Korea.

The statement published by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on Sunday called for a "robust response" by the international community and the UN Security Council (UNSC).

"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest terms the brazen launch of another Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) conducted on 18 November 2022 by the DPRK … We urge the DPRK to resume meaningful dialogue toward denuclearization and accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea," the statement read.

The ministers also called for a "united and robust response" by the global community, including the need for further "significant measures" to be taken by the UNSC.

On Friday, North Korea launched what was preliminarily identified as a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of reaching the US mainland. The South Korean military reported that the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) and reached an altitude of 6,100 kilometers at a maximum speed of Mach 22, which is 22 times faster than the speed of sound. According to the Japanese officials, the missile fell about 200 kilometers west of Hokkaido's Oshima Island within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The new launch came a day after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan and warned the US and its allies that Pyongyang would respond proportionally to Washington's bolstering of extended deterrence.

North Korea has conducted dozens of missile test launches since the start of 2022, several missiles at once on some occasions. On 2 November, Pyongyang launched more than 20 short-range missiles. North Korea said its military-related activities came in response to provocations by South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

^{SOURCE: Sputnik}