Paris: France denounced “in the strongest possible terms”, the latest missile launch by North Korea over Japanese territory, the country’s Foreign Ministry officials said.

Reiterating solidarity with its Asian partners on Friday, France called North Korea’s move to build a nuclear and ballistic program a “violation of its international obligations”, which put at risk the security of the region and the international community, Xinhua news agency reported.

“In the face of this threat, France is prepared to work — particularly within the UN Security Council and the European Union — to strengthen measures to convince the Pyongyang regime that escalation is not at all in its interest and to bring it to the negotiating table,” the Quai d’Orsay added in a statement.

North Korea reportedly fired, earlier on Friday, a missile that flew over Japan’s northern Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean.

At the request of the US, Japan and South Korea, the UN Security Council was to meet to discuss the missile launch.

China on Friday said it opposes ballistic missile launches by North Korea against UN Security Council resolutions.

On Monday, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear test on September 3, the ninth UN sanctions resolution adopted on North Korea since 2006.

The sanctions resolution curtailed North Korea’s oil supply by almost 30 per cent, and banned all of its textile exports worth $800 million and remittances of North Korean labourers from abroad.