UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday "strongly" condemned North Korea's attempted launch of a military satellite, which failed to reach orbit, urging Pyongyang to stop violating Security Council resolutions, his spokesperson said.

"Any launch by the DPRK using ballistic missile technology is contrary to the relevant Security Council resolutions," his spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

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"The Secretary-General reiterates his call on the DPRK to cease such acts and to swiftly resume dialogue without preconditions to achieve the goal of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," she added.