(LEAD) Transition team strongly condemns N. Korea's ballistic missile launch

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details; ADDS photo)
By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- The transition team of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol strongly condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launch Wednesday, saying the incoming government will deal sternly with any provocations.

The warning came hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea with just days to go until Yoon's inauguration on May 10. The launch was the North's 14th show of force this year and came amid concern the regime could stage an intercontinental ballistic missile or nuclear test.

"The transition team strongly condemns North Korea's provocation and again urges an immediate halt to actions creating tension and threatening international peace," the committee said in a statement.

"The Yoon Suk-yeol government will deal strongly with North Korea's provocations by working with the international community on the basis of thorough cooperation between South Korea and the United States," it said, promising "more fundamental deterrence measures" to counter the North's nuclear and missile threats.

Yoon has signaled a hard-line stance on North Korea with suggestions of carrying out a preemptive strike in the event of an imminent threat and purchasing additional units of the U.S. THAAD antimissile system.

The transition team denounced the launch as a direct violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology while also describing it as a "grave provocation" threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

The committee called on the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration to come up with tougher measures against North Korea's threats and to protect the people's safety.

hague@yna.co.kr
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