North Korea said Wednesday it rejects the UN Security Council statement condemning its latest missile launches, claiming the statement is a violation of the country's sovereignty and vowing to continue to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.

A spokesperson of the North's Foreign Ministry made the remark to the Korean Central News Agency after the Security Council adopted a press statement condemning the North's launches of three medium-range Rodong ballistic missiles on Monday.

"We categorically reject this as an unacceptable act of violating our right to survival and sovereignty," the spokesperson said, adding that the missile launches had no negative effects on the safety of neighboring nations and waters.

The spokesperson also said it is nonsense for the Security Council to take issue with the North's missile launches while remaining silent to the US bringing vast means of nuclear war into the Korean Peninsula and conducting nuclear war exercises.

"We will continue to expand our miraculous achievements in strengthening nuclear capabilities in a historical year that we opened with nuclear thunder of our first hydrogen bomb," the spokesperson said.

On Monday, the North fired three Rodong medium-range missiles off its east coast. The missiles flew about 1,000 km and landed in waters some 400 km inside Japan's air defense identification zone, according to South Korea's military.

The barrage was the latest in a number of missile launches of all ranges -- short, medium, intermediate and submarine missiles -- the communist nation has been carrying out since its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the following month.

Such launches represent a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that ban the North from any activity using ballistic missile technology over concern that it can be used to develop long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. (Yonhap)