Geneva
: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday denounced North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket and asked the country to halt its -"provocative actions-" and return to compliance with its international obligations.
Condemning the launch as -"deeply deplorable-", the UN chief said it was in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
-"It is deeply deplorable that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has conducted a launch using ballistic missile technology in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions despite the united plea of the international community against such an act,-" Ban said in a statement.
Ban reiterated his call on North Korea to halt its -"provocative actions-" and return to compliance with its international obligations.
He reaffirmed his commitment to working with all sides in reducing tensions and achieving the verifiable de-nuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, the UN statement said.
Meanwhile, United Nations Security Council has convened an an emergency meeting today over North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket.
North Korea on Sunday said it had successfully put a satellite into orbit, with a rocket launch widely condemned as a ballistic missile test for a weapons delivery system to strike the US mainland.
It is already subject to numerous UN sanctions over previous rocket launches and three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
