Japan’s parliament condemns North Korea rocket launch

South Korean residents in Japan protest with a banner that reads: “we sternly denouce the missile launch” in front of headquarters of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, in Tokyo Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. The UN Security Council condemned North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket that world leaders called a banned test of ballistic missile technology and another “intolerable provocation.” The UN’s most powerful body pledged to quickly adopt a new resolution with “significant” new sanctions. AP

TOKYO — Japan’s parliament has condemned North Korea’s long-range rocket launch, calling it a serious provocation against international peace and demanding the communist nation immediately stop such activity.

In a resolution unanimously passed on Tuesday, the lower house also urged the international community to work together and quickly adopt a new UN Security Council resolution that calls for tough new sanctions against North Korea.

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The parliamentary resolution also urged Japan’s government to separately impose its own sanctions against North Korea to address issues including the North’s nuclear and missile programs and the abductions of Japanese citizens by the North decades ago.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the rocket launch “totally intolerable” and urged the government to impose sanctions as soon as possible.

READ: UN sanctions on North Korea failing, 10 years on — UN experts