Summary Ban Ki-moon said that North Korea's test-firing of three ballistic missiles was deeply troubling.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said North Korea s test-firing of three ballistic missiles was deeply troubling and undermined efforts to reduce tension on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea test-fired two SCUD missiles and a Rodong medium-range missile on Tuesday, in further defiance of the international community and in apparent reaction to the planned deployment of a US defence system in South Korea.
"The DPRK s firing of missiles is deeply troubling," said Ban s spokesman Farhan Haq. "Such actions are not conducive to reducing tensions on the Korean peninsula."
The UN Security Council is discussing a response to North Korea s missile tests, said Japan s ambassador and the council president.
"We are hoping that the Security Council will be able to respond in an appropriate way," Ambassador Koro Bessho told reporters. "We are talking to several friends," he added.
The US Defence Department said Washington would raise its concerns over the latest launches at the United Nations. But the US mission said it had not called for consultations at the Security Council on North Korea.
A US-drafted statement condemning an apparent submarine-launched ballistic missile earlier this month was still under discussion with China, Washington s key partner on North Korea, diplomats said.
The council last adopted a statement condemning North Korea for two medium-range missile tests on Jun 23.
UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from developing ballistic missile technology. North Korea has been hit by five sets of UN sanctions since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.
