Abu Dhabi: The UAE has condemned North Korea’s firing of a ballistic missile that flew over Japan on Thursday, in a new provocative test for regional and international security and a continuation of Pyongyang’s unacceptable escalation.

In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said that these repeated missile tests are a challenge to the related resolutions of the UN Security Council, and a real threat to the international community.

The statement also called on the UN Security Council to work on stopping these acts, which undermine the chances of peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and North-East Asia.

The ministry also highlighted the need for North Korea to abide by Security Council resolutions while calling on all concerned parties to pursue dialogue and diplomacy, to reduce tensions and maintain international peace and security.

Putin, Macron agree ‘negotiations’ the only way to defuse N.Korea tensions: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed in a phone call on Friday that resuming direct talks with North Korea was the only way to resolve tensions over its nuclear programme, the Kremlin said.

In a statement, the Kremlin said the two leaders “were united in the opinion that it was unacceptable to allow an escalation in tension.”

The crisis needs to be resolved “exclusively through political and diplomatic means, by restarting direct negotiations,” they reportedly said.

Both Putin and Macron “decisively condemned the provocative” firing by North Korea of a ballistic missile Friday over Japan and into the Pacific, the statement said.

In the statement, the Kremlin said that during Putin’s talk with Macron “it was underlined that an adequate response to Pyongyang’s irresponsible steps was taken” by the UN.

British PM May outraged at North Korea’s ‘reckless provocation’ - spokesman

Prime Minister Theresa May is “outraged” by North Korea’s firing of a missile that flew over northern Japan on Friday and Britain will keep pressing China to increase the pressure on the state, her spokesman said.

“The prime minister is outraged by North Korea’s continued reckless provocation and she strongly condemns the regime’s illegal tests,” the spokesman said.

“Our key focus now is continuing to press China to keep up the pressure on North Korea to change course.”

EU condemns N.Korea missile as ‘outrageous provocation’

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini on Friday condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launch over Japan as an “outrageous provocation” and vowed to step up sanctions on the rogue regime.

“Today’s launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) of another Ballistic Missile over Japan is a new outrageous provocation,” Mogherini said.

The EU will implement the latest UN measures against individuals and organisations on Friday, Mogherini said, and press on with efforts already under way to extend the bloc’s own sanction regime.

“While the European Union’s current restrictive measures against the DPRK are already the most stringent it has in place for any country, we are already working on additional autonomous EU measures to complement the decisions taken by the United Nations,” she said.

“Our work will be accelerated even more by this latest launch.”

China ‘opposes’ N. Korea missile launch, rejects blame

China condemned North Korea’s launch, but said it was “irresponsible” to blame Beijing for regional tensions after Washington urged it to rein in its ally.

After the North’s latest test, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to use the oil it supplies to North Korea as leverage to pressure the isolated nation into reconsidering its nuclear programme.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Beijing had made “enormous sacrifices at a great price” by implementing UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

“The core lies in a conflict between the DPRK and the US. The focal point of the contradiction is not China,” Hua told a regular news briefing, using the acronym for the North’s official name.

“China is not the driver behind the escalation of the tensions. China also does not hold the key to the Korean peninsula issue. The initiators of a trouble should end it,” she said.

“It’s irresponsible and unhelpful for the settlement of the issue to unjustly blame others and shirk responsibilities in any form.”

China on Monday backed an eighth set of sanctions against North Korea at the UN Security Council after Pyongyang’s latest and largest nuclear test, banning it from trading in textiles and restricting oil imports.

Washington had called for an oil embargo, but it softened its stance in order to secure the backing of China and Russia.

“China supplies North Korea with most of its oil. Russia is the largest employer of North Korean forced labour,” Tillerson said.

“China and Russia must indicate their intolerance for these reckless missile launches by taking direct actions of their own.”