North Korea's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Tests Stimulate Strong Reaction, Assessed For Violating UN Security Council Resolutions

North Korea's ballistic missile launch. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korea's actions to test intercontinental ballistic missiles have sparked strong reactions from a number of parties. The criticism also came from the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations has denounced North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile test as a violation of the resolution approved by the World Agency's Security Council, Friday, March 17, local time.

A statement from a spokesman for Guterres said his party urged North Korea to immediately stop the disturbing action. North Korea is also required to fully comply with international obligations under the relevant Security Council resolutions.

Guterres also asked Pyongyang to restart dialogue towards lasting peace and a thorough and verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as reported by Kyodo-Oana via Antara, Saturday, March 18.

On Thursday, March 16, North Korea conducted a test launch of the ICBM just hours before the summit between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Tokyo. The projectile crashed into the Sea of Japan.

Meanwhile, after informal meetings on human rights in North Korea at a meeting of the UN Security Council, Albania, South Korea, the US, and Japan criticized the launch of the ICBM in a joint statement.

On behalf of the four countries, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield read out the joint statement confirming that Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction were "supported" by the many human rights violations.

"The use of forced and exploitable labor - both at home and abroad - supports programs that violate the law and threaten this," the statement said.

The statement added that North Korea, which is experiencing severe economic difficulties, was partly due to the country's focus on nuclear and ballistic missile programs.