UN kicks off emergency meeting on North Korea missiles

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council has kicked off emergency consultations on North Korea's missile launches, amid intensive US-led diplomatic efforts to respond to what Washington termed Pyongyang's "provocative acts."

The closed-door meeting was called by Tokyo after Pyongyang test-fired seven missiles Wednesday, including a long-range Taepodong-2 capable of reaching US soil, sparking fierce condemnation from neighboring Japan and the United States.

Speaking to reporters on his way to the meeting, US Ambassador John Bolton said: "We hope we have a strong and unanimous signal from the council that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable."

"We're going to meet this morning to discuss the situation, go over some of the procedural issues. Then the government of Japan will have a draft resolution to begin consideration at the expert level later this afternoon," he added. "This is obviously a very serious matter." ...