U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned North Korea's recent test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in violation of resolutions adopted by the world body's Security Council.
A statement from his spokesman said that Guterres urges North Korea to "immediately desist" from such destabilizing actions and "fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Security Council resolutions."
He also calls on Pyongyang to resume dialogue toward lasting peace and the complete, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, it said.
On Thursday, North Korea test-fired an ICBM just hours before a summit between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Tokyo. The projectile came down in the Sea of Japan.
Meanwhile, after an informal meeting on human rights in North Korea at the Security Council, Albania, South Korea, the United States and Japan criticized the ICBM launch in a joint statement.
On behalf of the four countries, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield read out the statement asserting that Pyongyang's development of weapons of mass destruction is "underpinned" by many of its human rights violations.
"The use of forced and exploited labor -- both domestically and overseas -- support this unlawful and threatening program," the statement said.
It added that North Koreans experience "severe economic hardships" due in part to the country's focus on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
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