NATO Secretary General Kutuk Launches North Korean Military Satellite

JAKARTA - Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg condemned North Korea's military satellite launch and called on the country's leaders to stop the provocative move.

"I strongly condemn the efforts to launch military satellites by the DPRK, using ballistic missile technology," Stoltenberg said as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, May 31.

Stoltenberg stressed North Korea's actions raised tensions, risked regional security, and violated United Nations Security Council (UN) resolutions.

He called on North Korea to return to dialogue to achieve comprehensive denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

"We stand together with our close partners in the region, South Korea and Japan," he said.

The North Korean satellite crashed in the Yellow Sea after losing momentum due to abnormal flights, the North Korean news agency reported.

Developed with ballistic missile technology, the satellite is believed to have been created to collect military intelligence data for North Korea.