The Philippines has expressed serious concern over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) recent ballistic missile launch, citing its possible detrimental impact on the region's peace and stability, a statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) read.

In the statement, the Philippines urged North Korea to immediately cease the missile activities and adhere to its international obligations.

"The Philippines expresses serious concern and strongly denounces the continuing ballistic missile launches conducted by the DPRK. Such provocative actions undermine economic progress, peace, and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region," it read.

"We renew our call on the DPRK to promptly cease these activities and abide by all international obligations, including relevant United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions, and to commit to peaceful and constructive dialogue," it added.

On Jan. 6, North Korea conducted a ballistic missile launch into the East Sea, its first missile test in two months, amid a political crisis in South Korea and the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Seoul.

North Korean state media reported that the country's latest weapons test was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to strike remote targets in the Pacific as President Kim Jong Un vowed to expand his collection of nuclear-capable weapons to counter rival nations.

South Korea’s military said it detected North Korea launching a missile that flew 1,100 kilometers before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

The Philippines has consistently condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and has backed international efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

In December 2023, President Marcos joined his fellow Southeast Asian leaders in condemning North Korea's action to reportedly fire an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan.

“We join Japan, together with the rest of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), in condemning the continued threat that the launching [of] ballistic missiles by the DPRK represents,” he said during the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) in Tokyo.

“As we speak on economic progress in our region, we found these aspirations for a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific Region. So, such dangerous and provocative actions by the DPRK threaten and destabilize the region and the world,” he added.