The United States and eight other nations have urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to condemn North Korea's latest missile launches, following the council's closed-door meeting, which appears to have failed to take any concrete action against Pyongyang.

According to media sources, Friday's meeting was the second attempt by the US and other like-minded countries in less than two weeks to hold North Korea accountable for its recent series of missile launches. On January 30, North Korea conducted its seventh and last missile launch of the year.

"The launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) by the DPRK on January 30 represents a significant escalation in the DPRK's previous breaches of several Security Council resolutions and attempts to further destabilise the area. In the strongest possible terms, we condemn this illegal conduct "In a joint statement, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated.

The term DPRK refers for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which is North Korea's official name. The declaration was signed by officials from eight additional UN Security Council member countries: Albania, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Japan, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates.

They added that the IRBM launch was North Korea's longest-range test since late 2017, and that Pyongyang had fired nine ballistic missiles in seven rounds of missile testing this year.

"The nine ballistic missile launches in January were the most in a single month in the history of the DPRK's WMD and ballistic missile programmes," they added in a joint statement. "We urge on all Council members to condemn these hazardous and illegal acts with one voice," they continued. Since November 2017, when it last tested a ballistic missile, North Korea has maintained a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing, after its sixth and last nuclear test in September.

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