WorldSEOUL/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations condemned North Korea’s “outrageous” firing of a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, demanding Pyongyang halt its weapons program but holding back on any threat of new sanctions on the isolated regime. North Korea said the launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was to counter U.S. and South Korean military drills and was a first step in military action in the Pacific to “contain” the U.S. territory of Guam. However, the U.S.-drafted statement, which was agreed by consensus, does not threaten new sanctions on North Korea. China and Russia’s ambassadors to the United Nations said they opposed any unilateral sanctions on North Korea and reiterated calls to halt deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea. “Any measures against North Korea should be under the U.N. Security Council framework, and should be carried out according to Security Council resolutions,” he told a news briefing.

Source: Sunday Times August 30, 2017 04:30 UTC