Japan lodges official protest over DPRK's latest missile launch

Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday that Japan had lodged an official protest with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) over its latest missile launch.

Kishida described the DPRK's recent launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine as a "provocative" act and stated that Japan would continue to coordinate with other countries over Pyongyang's ongoing missile and nuclear ambitions.

"North Korea's provocative nuclear test and ballistic missile launches are totally unacceptable," Kishida told a press briefing, adding that Tokyo's protest had been lodged through a diplomatic channel in Beijing.

"Japan is making efforts to collect and analyze information with strong interest. We will be fully prepared to respond to any situations through coordination with other countries," Japan's foreign minister said.

Under U.N. Security Council resolutions the DPRK is prohibited from certain nuclear activities and from using banned ballistic missile technology, although sources close to the matter in Japan recently have said the DPRK may be preparing for a fifth nuclear test.

Japan's defense ministry, separately, also confirmed that Pyongyang had fired a ballistic missile from a submarine and that it was currently collecting more information and analyzing the situation.

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani also described the firing as "provocative" and said Japan stood by the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of the launch.

Nakatani said that such acts of provocation would not be tolerated by Japan and that cooperation with the United States and South Korea on the issue would continue closely.