South Korean government Sunday appealed in a statement that the international community should join efforts to avoid heightening tension on the Korean Peninsula.

"It is not desirable to heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula and worsen inter-Korean relations. Such things are not helpful in resolving the North Korean nuclear and missile problems," said a statement by the Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae.

The latest missile launch in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was merely a political incident and should not be turned into an emergency in terms of national security, the statement said.

The statement came amid reports that an U.N. resolution on DPRK for its missile tests earlier last week will likely be put to a vote at the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) as early as Monday.

According to the Yonhap, the United States and Japan are determined to send the resolution draft to the UNSC on Monday. If the draft was approved , it would lead to sanctions against the DPRK.

Song Min-soon, chief secretary to South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun for security policy, said later in a telephone interview with Yonhap News Agency on Sunday that "It is difficult for us to determine if a U.N. resolution against Pyongyang will be effective in the prevention of the DPRK's missile proliferation program."

"If U.N. sanctions (over the DPRK) are determined effective, we 'll consider supporting them. For the time being, however, we need to have clear ground that these sanctions will work for preventing any missile proliferation," he added.

South Korea is looking forward to a diplomatic settlement of the missile problem of the DPRK, said Song.

Source: Xinhua