UN chief Guterres condemns North Korea's ballistic missile launch

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the latest launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile by North Korea as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea confirmed the test-firing of the Hwasong-12 type missile on Sunday -- the latest in a series of its missile launches over the month and the first to draw the UN chief's condemnation this year, reported NHK World.

Guterres said in a statement released by his spokesperson that it is of great concern that North Korea has disregarded any consideration for an international flight or maritime safety.

He also urged the North to desist from taking any further counter-productive actions and called for all parties to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution, reported NHK World.

The UN Security Council held emergency meetings on January 10 and 20 to discuss how to respond to the launches by the North. But they failed to reach an agreement as China and Russia took a different position from Western nations.

North Korea tested seven missiles in the first four weeks of 2022. Those seven missile tests are believed to be a hypersonic glide vehicle -- potentially one of the most powerful weapons on the planet -- to an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), Pyongyang's longest-range missile tested since 2017 -- to cruise missiles, arms that powers like the US have had in their inventory for decades.