SEOUL: After the UN Security Council's private meeting failed to take any real action against Pyongyang, the US and eight other countries have called on the UNSC to denounce North Korea's recent missile tests.

The conference on Friday was the second attempt by the US and other like-minded countries in just over two weeks to hold North Korea accountable for its recent missile tests.

On January 30, North Korea launched its seventh and last missile launch of the year.

"The DPRK's launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) on January 30 is a significant step forward in the DPRK's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) previous violations of several UN Security Council resolutions, and it aims to further destabilise the area. In the strongest possible terms, we condemn this illegal action "In a joint statement, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

UN representatives from eight other UNSC member nations namely Albania, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Japan, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates, signed the statement.

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