AFP mum on North Korean ballistic missile launch
The Philippine military condemns the latest ballistic missile launch by North Korea as it reiterated calls for compliance to its international obligations.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) noted that the latest ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) "provokes tensions and undermines economic progress, peace, and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the lndo-Pacific region."
"The Philippines has repeatedly called on the DPRK to also comply with its international obligations and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and to commit to constructive and peaceful dialogue with the Republic of Korea," it stated.
"The Philippines has consistently supported the call for a complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the DPRK," the DFA added.
In a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Tuesday, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, assured the Filipino people that as part of its mandate, the military is monitoring all the developments in the region including the launching of rockets and missiles by other states.
"It's part of the mandate of the armed forces to monitor developments in the region including the monitoring of such launches and to issue appropriate guidance if in case it will pose a threat to our people," he said.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the DPRK Missile Administration successfully conducted a test-fire of a new-type tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a 4.5 ton-class super-large warhead on Monday. Robina Asido/DMS
