NATO condemns North Korea's rocket launch

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has condemned North Korea's rocket launch, saying it is in direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

"I strongly condemn the launch by North Korea of a rocket using ballistic missile technology today, which follows the North Korean nuclear weapons test on January 6," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on Sunday.

"This launch is in direct violation of five United Nations Security Council Resolutions, which repeatedly call for North Korea to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme, to re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launching and not to conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology," he said.

He called on North Korea not to threaten with, or conduct any launches using ballistic missile technology and to refrain from any further provocative actions.