North Korea: UN Security Council 'deplores' missile launch

GlobalPost

The UN Security Council met on Friday to discuss North Korea's failed long-range missile launch, calling it deplorable, according to CNN.

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned North Korea not to "undertake further provocative actions that will heighten tension in the region" amid concerns that it might try to distract from the embarrassment of the failed launch by conducting a nuclear test or planning a military maneuver.

Ban called upon the North Korean leadership to "work towards building confidence with neighboring countries and improving the life of its people," according to the Associated Press.

The UN Security Council's current chair, US ambassador Susan Rice, said the missile launch was a breach of two UNSC resolutions which imposed tough sanctions against North Korea after its nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. Rice did not mention whether a response to the missile launch might include further sanctions against North Korea.

More on GlobalPost: North Korean rocket is launched but described as a failure

The US has also canceled a food aid deal with Pyongyang, with a spokesman for the National Security Council stating, "We are not going forward with any agreement to provide them with assistance."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "North Korea is only further isolating itself by engaging in provocative acts, and is wasting its money on weapons and propaganda displays while the North Korean people go hungry," according to the BBC.

More on GlobalPost: North Korea rocket launch: US, Japan, South Korea, others angry over provocative move

The missile launch failed when the rocket disintegrated and fell into the sea, but the US, South Korea and Japan viewed it as a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test.

North Korea is currently celebrating the 100th anniversary of the country's founder, Kim Il-sung, and the missile's failure was a humiliation for the repressive regime which is still finding its bearings under Kim Jong-un, who took over when his father Kim Jong-il passed away at the end of 2011.

More on GlobalPost: North Korea's failed rocket brings condemnation, embarrassment

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