White House 'strongly condemns' missile launches
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The White House issued a statement late Tuesday that "strongly
condemns" North Korea's test firing of at least six missiles, calling it a "provocative act."
Tuesday, July 04
The United States strongly condemns
these missile launches and North Korea's
unwillingness to heed calls for restraint from the international community," the statement said. "We are consulting with international
partners on next steps."
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to discuss North Korea's actions.
North Korea test-fired a long-range missile and five shorter-range rockets early Wednesday, but
the closely watched long-range test failed within a minute, U.S.
officials said.
The tests began shortly after 3:30 a.m. Wednesday (2:30 p.m. Tuesday ET) and lasted
for about five hours. The Taepodong-2, which some analysts believe is capable of hitting the western United States, failed after about 40 seconds, the officials said. (posted 11:50
p.m.)
