UNSC condemns North Korea's missile launches

The United Nations Security Council has condemned the latest ballistic missile launches by North Korea and urged the country to refrain from further action.

Pyongyang shall "refrain from further actions, including nuclear tests, in violation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, and comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions", Xinhua news agency cited the 15-nation UN body as saying on Tuesday.

The UN body condemned the March 5 missile launches, saying the launches violated North Korea's "international obligations" under relevant Security Council resolutions.

Pyongyang has been banned from testing any ballistic missile technology. The latest launches have sparked strong condemnation from a string of nations.

The Security Council deplored North Korea's ballistic missile activities which contributed to Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increased tension in the region, the statement said.

The UN body regretted that North Korea was diverting resources to the pursuit of ballistic missiles when its people "have great unmet needs".

North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the eastern waters on Sunday. The missiles flew eastward some 1,000 km on average, and three of them fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The council members expressed "serious concern" over Pyongyang's "increasingly destabilising behaviour and defiance" of the UN body, urging the Asian country to "comply fully with its obligations under these resolutions".

It emphasised the importance of North Korea's showcase of "sincere commitment to denuclearisation and stressed the importance of working to reduce tensions in the Korean Peninsula". The UN body agreed to "continue to closely monitor situation and take further measures, in line with the council's previously expressed determination".