Leaders from Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea have condemned North Korea after reports the rogue state fired an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The missile landed near Japanese waters on Friday and showed a potential ability to reach and to strike the entire US, Japan has said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met his colleagues on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Bangkok in a multi-lateral meeting called by US Vice President Kamala Harris.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Japan’s president Fumio Kishida, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also took part.
Ms Harris said the leaders strongly condemned North Korea’s actions saying it destabilises security in the region and “unnecessarily raises tensions”.
“Together the countries represented here will continue to urge North Korea to commit to serious and sustained diplomacy,” she told reporters.
Mr Albanese called the missile launches reckless and unprecedented.
“We stand with the world and indeed with our allies in opposing and condemning this action in the strongest possible terms,” he said.
The prime minister called on North Korea to stop the provocation.
“We stand ready to be part of a global response to this,” he said.
with Associated Press
© AAP 2022
