As in past statements, the Council went on to say that it “would continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures in line with the Council’s previously expressed determination”.
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North Korea is barred under United Nations resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology, but Pyongyang has carried out several launches following its fourth nuclear test in January.
In a press statement approved by the 15 members, the council denounced the North’s ballistic missile activities as fueling tensions and called them “grave violations” of the ban on missile activity.
A previous bid by the council to condemn North Korea for firing a ballistic missile directly into Japanese-controlled waters on August 2 ran aground after China sought changes to the text.
North Korea has repeatedly flouted Security Council resolutions demanding an end to its nuclear and ballistic missile activities and has continued to launch missiles, escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the region.
A test-fire of strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea. According to South Korean officials the SLBM covered the distance of about 500 kilometers (310 miles), marking the longest distance the North has achieved with this weapon.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has praised the country’s missile programme for having “perfectly acquired” the technology of an SLBM in a short span of time, official state media said on Thursday.
Until the statement was adopted on Friday, the Security Council members had been unable to agree on common language to condemn Pyongyang’s action.
Jon also assured that the country’s latest missile test didn’t cause any harm to the security of neighboring countries, but rather showed the country’s “great power and inexhaustible strength in the face of the trials of history and the challenges of our enemies”.
After Pyongyang’s launch of two Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles, Kim purportedly ordered the construction of the submarine at a dinner attended by scientists and prominent figures on June 22.
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China had wanted the statement to oppose deploying “any new anti-ballistic missile stronghold in Northeast Asia with an excuse of dealing with threats of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes”.
