The U.N. Security Council has strongly condemned North Korea's recent failed missile launch, threatening additional measures against the communist country.
The council said in a statement Monday after an emergency closed-door meeting that the attempted launch was in "grave violation" of several past U.N. resolutions. It said North Korea must refrain from further testing of ballistic missiles and nuclear devices.
Council members said they would continue to "closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures."
North Korea tried to launch an intermediate range ballistic missile Saturday, but the missile exploded after liftoff. The launch was the latest in a series of launches and nuclear tests this year in defiance of U.N. resolutions.
South Korea also strongly condemned the launch attempt, saying it was "a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions" and an "illegal act of provocation."
Officials in Washington stressed the United States' continuing vigilance "in the face of North Korean provocations," and the nation's "iron-clad" commitment to working together with allies South Korea and Japan to maintain security in northeast Asia.
U.S. military officials said the North Korean missile was presumed to be a Musadan intermediate range rocket, and its launch point was near the city of Kusong.
In addition to already conducting an unprecedented two nuclear tests this year, Pyongyang has advanced its land-based and submarine-based ballistic missile capabilities with numerous launches in the last six months.
