UN chief condemns DPRK’s missile launch

In this file photo taken on Dec 21, 2021 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press conference at the end of his visit to crisis-ridden Lebanon, in the capital Beirut. (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Sunday's ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, said his deputy spokesman on Tuesday.

"The secretary-general condemns the launch of a ballistic missile of possible intermediate-range by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Jan 30. This is a breaking of the DPRK's announced moratorium in 2018 on launches of this nature, and a clear violation of Security Council resolutions," said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman, in a statement.

"It is of great concern that the DPRK has again disregarded any consideration for international flight or maritime safety. The secretary-general urges the DPRK to desist from taking any further counter-productive actions and calls for all parties to seek a peaceful diplomatic solution," said the statement.

ALSO READ: DPRK confirms test-fire of long-range ballistic missile

The official Korean Central News Agency of the DPRK reported that the country test-fired a Hwasong 12-type ground-to-ground intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile on Sunday.