South Korea, Japan, the United States and Australia responded rapidly on Wednesday to the reported missile test-firing by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) earlier in the morning. But the DPRK had so far remained silent.

Defense and intelligence officials in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington were quoted by media as saying that the DPRK test-fired six missiles of different ranges on Wednesday morning.

The South Korean government issued a statement expressing "deep regret" over the alleged launch of the missiles, including the long-range Taepodong-2 missile and the Rodong missiles.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun had called an emergency meeting of security-related ministers.

Following the reports of the test-firings, South Korea's stock market opened sharply down in the morning, with the benchmark KOSPI index losing 18.53 points, or 1.44 percent, to 1,267.39 during the first 15 minutes of trading.

Japan "lodges a stern protest and expresses regret" over the DPRK's missile launch, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.

Japan decided at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to ban the entry of the DPRK's ferry Mangyongbong 92 for six months into Japanese ports, as part of a package of initial sanctions, according to Kyodo News.

"We do consider it provocative behavior" as the DPRK's move violated a missile test moratorium, U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.

However, Hadley said the missile launch by the DPRK posed no apparent threat to the U.S. territory.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that no one wanted any hostility on the Korean Peninsular and the nuclear issue had to be solved at the six-party talks.

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday criticized the missile tests as a provocation that would ratchet up tensions surrounding the DPRK's nuclear issue, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday.

"We can say that the missile launches clearly do not contribute to a strengthening of trust-building measures in the region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin was quoted as saying.

The UN Security Council decided on Tuesday to hold emergency talks Wednesday to discuss responses to the DPRK's missile launches, said diplomats from France, which chairs the council this month.

Source: Xinhua