Anchor: South Korea immediately responded to the North Korean missile launch Wednesday morning, staging a live-fire missile drill in a show of force. While displaying its military response capabilities, the South Korean president also instructed his officials to prevent an uncontrollable situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 
 
Report: Two minutes after the North Korean missile launch at 3:17 Wednesday morning, President Moon Jae-in was briefed about the provocation by his top security adviser.
 
Six minutes after the launch, the South Korean military staged a live-fire missile exercise, in an apparent display of its response capabilities to strike the North Korean origin of provocations.  
 
At 6 a.m., the South Korean president held a meeting with the National Security Council at the Blue House bunker. 
 
President Moon cautioned against an uncontrollable situation on the Korean Peninsula.
 
[Sound bite: President Moon Jae-in (Korean)]
"Despite our sincere efforts and appeals, North Korea fired a ballistic missile today. This not only heightens tensions on the Korean Peninsula but also seriously threatens the peace and security of the international community. We strongly denounce North Korea for making such reckless provocations."
"As I have consistently said, North Korea should immediately stop making reckless choices that lead itself to isolation and destruction, but should rather come to the table of dialogue. The South Korean government will never overlook North Korea's provocations."
 
Following the meeting that lasted about an hour, Moon's chief PR secretary Yoon Young-chan briefed reporters that the president instructed his officials to prevent the U.S. from considering a preemptive attack on North Korea.
 
Moon was cited as stressing the need to prevent the North from misjudging the situation and threatening South Korea with its nuclear weapons.
 
He also ordered the military to keep vigilance to deter and quickly respond to any provocation by the North based on the ironclad South Korea-U.S. combined defense readiness.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.