UN Diplomat Says US & Japan Have Requested Emergency Meeting on North Korean Missile Tests

South Korean army soldiers patrol along the barbed-wire fence in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A U.N. diplomat says the United States and Japan have requested an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the latest North Korean ballistic missile launches.

The diplomat said the meeting is likely to take place on Wednesday after the Security Council returns from a visit to four Boko Haram-affected countries in Africa.

The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private and there has been no official announcement.

North Korea fired four banned ballistic missiles earlier Monday. Three of them landed in waters that Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said.