UN chief condemns North Korea launches

NEW YORK (AA) – The United Nations Secretary-General on Monday condemned North Korea’s ballistic missile launches.

“Such actions violate Security Council resolutions and seriously undermine regional peace and stability,” spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.

The Secretary-General called on the autocratic island nation to “refrain from further provocations and comply fully with its international obligations”.

North Korea test-fired missiles early Monday in defiance of mounting international pressure. Acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn denounced the launches as “a grave provocation to the international community”.

This is the second missile challenge from the country since U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn in. The North tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Feb. 12.

The reclusive state faced severe sanctions from the UN Security Council for a series of launches last year, in addition to two nuclear tests.