North Korea rejects UNSC statement

North Korea on Sunday rejected the statement by the United Nations Security Council condemning its recent ballistic missile launches, threatening to take "eventful action steps" in retaliation.

In a foreign ministry spokesman's statement, Pyongyang accused the United States and its "followers" of posing threats to its dignity and right to existence at the UNSC.

"The US and its followers committed a serious hostile act of finding fault with the DPRK's measures for bolstering nuclear deterrence for self-defense, such as the strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile test-fire," said the North's statement released by KCNA in English.

"Now that the US posed threats to the dignity and the right to existence of the DPRK defying its serious warning, it will continue to take a series of eventful action steps as a full-fledged military power," it said. The DPRK is the acronym of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The UNSC issued a press statement strongly denouncing North Korea's missile tests in a unanimous decision reached Friday (New York time).

On Aug. 24, North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the East Sea, prompting the council to hold an emergency meeting to discuss counteractions. The missile flew some 500 kilometers before landing in waters near Japan.

The latest launch followed another SLBM launch on July 9, and ballistic missile tests on July 19 and Aug. 3. (Yonhap)