Egypt deeply concerned over escalations in Korean peninsula

CAIRO – 29 August 2017: The Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmed Abu Zaid, expressed on Tuesday serious concerns about the escalations in the Korean Peninsula following an airborne missile launch over northern Japan by North Korea. Abu Zaid, added that North Korea must respect the relevant United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions on this regard.

The spokesperson elaborated that the current crisis in the peninsula is jeopardizing the security and stability of the region. He also urged all parties to respect the efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis and avoid any statements or moves that might aggravate the tension.

On Tuesday, North Korea fired a missile over Japan. The missile landed in the water close to the northern region Hokkaido. This step by North Korea is one of the most provocative actions and came in conjunction with U.S.’ and South Korea’s forces annual military exercises.

Earlier this month, North Korea threatened to fire missiles into the sea near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Pyongyang would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the U.S., according to Reuters.

Trump commented on North Korea’s missile launch by saying that all options to respond to this move were on the table. "The world has received North Korea’s latest message loud and clear: this regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior," according to a statement by the White House. In addition, Robert Wood, the U.S. envoy said that Washington still needs to carry out "further analysis" of the missile.

Furthermore, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said that Russia should show restraint and avoid provocative actions and for the U.S. and its allies to eschew military escalation. The British Prime Minister, Theresa May, also commented on the situation and stated that she would discuss North Korea's missile test with Japan on a visit to the country later this week.

The Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, said that he agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump in telephone talks to increase pressure on North Korea. Japan’s Minister of Defense said that the North Korean missile was the same type of the intermediate range ballistic missile that was fired in May and same as the missile North Korea threatened to fire at the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam.

The U.N. Security Council, headed by Egypt, held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the escalations in the Korean peninsula.