Turkey condemns North Korea's banned missile launches

Turkey condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches in a statement issued on Monday.

A Foreign Ministry statement issued Monday evening said the ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) "constitute yet another flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, including Resolution 2321 adopted in November 2016."

"The DPRK must fully comply with its international obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions and cease its ballistic missile launches and other activities threatening regional, as well as international security and stability," the statement said.

"​We once again call upon the DPRK to cease its confrontational behavior which benefits neither the DPRK itself nor the international community and is detrimental to peace and security of the region," it added.

North Korea fired four banned ballistic missiles into Japanese waters earlier on Monday, an act that officials in South Korea and Japan said represented a grave threat to their countries' security.

Acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn denounced the launches as "a grave provocation to the international community."

This is the second missile challenge from North Korea since U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in.