hankyoreh

South Korea on Sunday welcomed the U.N. Security Council's adoption of a resolution against North Korea, saying it is in line with Seoul's consistent stance denouncing Pyongyang's recent missile launches.

"The government supports Resolution 1695 on the Launch of Missiles by North Korea adopted unanimously by the United Security Council and (highly) evaluates its efforts so far to adopt this resolution," Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu-ho said in a statement.

South Korea has underlined the need for the international community to send a clear massage to North Korea for its missile tests conducted on July 5 by taking an appropriate measure, he added.

Choo urged North Korea to comply with the grim and stern message and restrain from taking any steps to worsen the situation.

He stressed that North Korea should reinstate its moratorium on missile tests and return to the six-way talks on its nuclear weapons program, adding that South Korea expects to resolve various issues on North Korea through dialogue.

The Foreign Ministry's statement came after it held an emergency meeting of related officials to review the resolution.

"Its contents are not that different from the government's expectations," a ranking Foreign Ministry official said, asking not to be named.

It is meaningful that all the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council endorsed the resolution, which includes far tougher measures against North Korea than those in a chairman's statement released after Pyongyang fired a long-range missile in 1998, he added.

"This resolution sends a clearer message to North Korea," he added. "North Korea will have to recognize the reality that the international community is taking its missile and nuclear activities more seriously."

The Unification Ministry will also convene an emergency meeting in the norning to discuss issues accruing from the adoption of the U.N. resolution.

Top agenda items are expected to include the resolution's possible impact on inter-Korean economic projects, including the construction of an industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and tourism at the North's scenic Mount Geumgang.

Seoul, July 16 (Yonhap News)