(VOVworld) - The UN Security Council on Thursday convened a meeting and issued a statement strongly condemning the ballistic missile launches conducted by Pyongyang this week, calling them a serious violation of international bans.

A wide view of the Security Council’s meeting in New York on May 3. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

The statement said it is deplorable that Pyongyang continued to pursue its ballistic missile program and the recent tests have escalated tensions.

The Council called on all UN members to redouble their efforts to fully implement sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, especially the measures set out in its most recent resolution in March.

Reiterating the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in North-East Asia at large, the Council agreed to continue monitoring the situation closely and take further significant measures in line with its previously expressed determination.  

On Thursday, top Pyongyang official said in Beijing that North Korea has "no thoughts" of resuming six-party talks on its nuclear program, despite the repeated urgings of its ally China.

Ms Choe Son Hui, deputy director-general of the North American affairs bureau in Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry, said that Pyongyang is not in a position to talk about denuclearization of the Korean peninsula when there remains the US hostile policy. Beijing wants to revive negotiations, although Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo all insist Pyongyang must first take some tangible steps towards denuclearization.