(LEAD) Yoon warns N.K. will be made to pay price for illicit missile launch

▲ This photo, provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 14, 2023, shows the North's new solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), test-fired the previous day under the guidance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Yoon-NK missile

(LEAD) Yoon warns N.K. will be made to pay price for illicit missile launch

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with quotes)

VILNIUS, July 12 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Wednesday that North Korea will be made to pay a price for carrying out an illicit ballistic missile launch as he presided over an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) during a trip to Lithuania.

The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile into the East Sea at around 10 a.m., the latest provocation amid tensions caused by the reclusive regime's accusations against U.S. spy aircraft operations earlier this week.

During the NSC meeting, Yoon told aides to make the point clear that illegal acts by North Korea will come with a price. He also ordered the strengthening of the U.S. "extended deterrence" commitment through the Nuclear Consultative Group that Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to create to discuss nuclear and strategic planning, according to his office.

Yoon is visiting Vilnius this week to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.

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