U.N. Security Council strongly condemns N. Korea's missile launch

The U.N. Security Council on Friday condemned North Korea's failed missile launch, saying it represents "a clear violation" of a series of U.N. resolutions banning the communist nation from any ballistic activity.

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the firing of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on April 15," the council said in a press statement.

"Although the DPRK's ballistic missile launch was a failure, this attempt constituted a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013) and 2270 (2016)," the statement said.

The North should refrain from further actions in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions, it added.

The council also stressed the importance of implementing U.N. sanctions on the North and urged all U.N. member states to redouble efforts to carry out the resolutions.

It then reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, and expressed commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation.

The council "would continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures in line with previously expressed determination," the statement said.

Earlier Friday, the North attempted to launch a Musudan intermediate-range missile off the east coast, but failed, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. With a range of up to 3,000 kilometers, the missile could reach as far as Guam.

Friday was the birthday of the North's founding leader, Kim Il-sung, grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. Concerns have grown in recent weeks that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test and a long-range missile launch to mark the anniversary. (Yonhap)