The UN Security Council met Tuesday to hammer out a response to North Korea’s recent missile tests after US President Barack Obama warned the reclusive state that it was deepening its international isolation.

North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday as world powers gathered for a G20 meeting in China, with leader Kim Jong-Un hailing the tests as “perfect”.

Envoys from France and Japan both called for sending a strong message to Pyongyang as they entered the meeting of the 15-member Security Council.

“We want a united and clear message,” said Japan’s ambassador Koro Bessho.

France’s Francois Delattre called for a “quick and firm reaction” from the council, adding: “The three ballistic missile launches are clear and unacceptable new violations of UN resolutions” and “a threat to regional and international peace and security”.

Pyongyang has conducted a fourth nuclear test and a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions, prompting South Korea to announce plans to deploy a US anti-missile system to counter such threats.

Earlier Tuesday, Obama held talks with South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of a regional summit in Laos.

“North Korea needs to know that provocations will only invite more pressure and further deepen its isolation,” he told reporters after meeting Park in Vientiane.

Park described the launches as a “reckless provocation (that) will lead North Korea down the path of self-destruction”.

But despite the global chorus of disapproval and tough sanctions, Pyongyang is unrepentant — continuing to ignore the international community’s calls for a halt to its weapons program.

Source: AFP