The UN Security Council will convene an open meeting this week to discuss North Korea's recent launch of a military reconnaissance satellite that ended in failure, a Seoul official said Wednesday.
The official at South Korea's Permanent Mission to the UN said that the meeting is slated to take place on Friday after Pyongyang's attempt to launch a satellite-carrying rocket failed due to the midair explosion of the rocket on Monday.
The recalcitrant regime pressed ahead with the launch despite international warnings and criticism that any launch using ballistic missile technology, including that of a space launch vehicle, is a violation of multiple UNSC resolutions.
South Korea, a nonpermanent member of the 15-member UNSC, is expected to reiterate its condemnation of the latest launch.
In a statement, Nate Evans, spokesperson for the US Mission to the UN confirmed that a UNSC meeting will take place on Friday morning, stressing that the council must address the North's "reckless and destabilizing" behavior.
"The Security Council has a responsibility to protect global peace and security, defend the global nonproliferation regime, and uphold its resolutions," Evans said.
"The United States urges all Security Council members to take this responsibility seriously and unite in condemning the DPRK's dangerous and unlawful behavior."
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the North's launch and called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric. (Yonhap)
