North Korea ballistic missile launch
A test-fire of strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile is seen in this undated photo KCNA via Reuters

The UN Security Council has condemned North Korea's recent failed missile launch and has pledged "significant" measures against the reclusive nation. The UN body said it is closely monitoring the situation to check for further provocation.

On Saturday (15 October), Pyongyang test-fired its intermediate-range ballistic missile, Musudan, defying UN regulations. However, the US and South Korean officials say the launch was unsuccessful as the projectile likely exploded immediately after liftoff.

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Following the botched event, the top UN arm issued a statement saying: "The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the most recent failed ballistic missile launch. This attempted launch is in grave violation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's [DPRK] international obligations under UNSC resolutions".

The Security Council held an emergency session shortly after Washington and Seoul confirmed that Pyongyang attempted to launch the Musudan missile, which theoretically could reach the US territory of Guam. This was the North's seventh bid to test-launch Musudan and all the tests have failed except for one.

While the international community, led by the UN, has been urging Pyongyang to scale down its acts, the North has so far refused to heed any of those calls and has remained defiant. In total, the UN has issued 11 statements strongly criticising the bellicose acts of the Kim Jong-un regime.

In its latest condemnation, the UNSC went on to say: "The members of the Security Council deplore all the DPRK's ballistic missile activities, including this failed launch, noting that such activities contribute to the DPRK's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension."

The Korean peninsula has been witnessing serious regional tensions over the past several weeks largely due to North Korea's actions with global bodies and nations scrambling to ease the situation. Continuing its rhetoric, the hermit kingdom has yet again warned it would not hesitate to press the nuclear button as a pre-emptive move in case of the threat of an all-out war.

North Korea