SEOUL: North Korea鈥檚 foreign minister on Sunday expressed 鈥渟trong regret鈥� over UN chief Antonio Guterres鈥� condemnation of the country鈥檚 intercontinental ballistic missile launch, a statement in state-run outlet KCNA said.
The North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Friday in one of its most powerful tests yet, prompting Guterres to urge Pyongyang to halt any further 鈥減rovocative actions.鈥�
Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui responded by expressing 鈥渕y strong regret over the fact that the UN secretary-general has taken a very deplorable attitude.鈥�
The UN chief鈥檚 statement, Choe said, was 鈥渙blivious of the purpose and principles of the UN Charter and its proper mission which is to maintain impartiality, objectivity and equity in all matters.鈥�
She added that the episode shows that Guterres 鈥渋s a puppet of the US.鈥�
Nuclear-armed North Korea has conducted a record-breaking blitz of launches in recent weeks, which Pyongyang 鈥� and Moscow 鈥� have repeatedly blamed on Washington鈥檚 moves to boost the protection it offers to allies Seoul and Tokyo.
Since Kim declared North Korea an 鈥渋rreversible鈥� nuclear state in September, the United States has ramped up regional security cooperation.
鈥淲e recently warned the UN secretary-general to consider the issue of the Korean peninsula on the basis of impartiality and objectivity,鈥� Choe said.
She added that the North had made clear that it would have to result to 鈥渟elf-defense under the worrying security environment in the Korean peninsula and the region caused by the US and its vassal forces鈥� dangerous military cooperation.鈥�
鈥淣evertheless,鈥� Choe said, 鈥渢he UN secretary-general shifted the blame for the case onto the DPRK rather than the US.鈥�
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised Friday鈥檚 launch, which KCNA said was the Hwasong-17 鈥� dubbed the 鈥渕onster missile鈥� by analysts.
The missile flew 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) at an altitude of 6,100 km, South Korea鈥檚 military said, only slightly less than the ICBM Pyongyang fired on March 24, which appeared to be the North鈥檚 most powerful such test yet.
Later on Friday, Tokyo and Washington held joint military drills in the airspace over the Sea of Japan.
The UN Security Council on Saturday said it would discuss North Korea in a Monday meeting.