Minister of Foreign Affairs Datuk Seri Anifah Aman has expressed his concern on the recent short-range missile launch by North Korea and urged the country to fully respect the relevant United Nasions Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

"Malaysia views with concern the latest short-range missle launches by North Korea on May 18-19 which have contributed to heighten tension in the Korean Peninsular...

"Malaysia continues to call on all parties concerned to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogues and consultations to take place at bilateral and multilateral levels for the interests of peace, security and stability in the Korean Peninsular and the region.

"In this regards, Malaysia strongly supports the call by South Korea to start dialogue process with North Korea," said Anifah.

On Monday, North Korea fired the sixth short-range missile into the Sea of Japan, defying warnings from UN chief Ban Ki-moon and South Korea after a flurry of similar tests at the weekend.