United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has strongly condemned North Korea’s second attempt to launch a military satellite.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN chief said in a statement that Guterres issued the criticism on Thursday.

The statement said that any launch by North Korea using ballistic missile technology is contrary to the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and the recent launch is in violation of Security Council sanctions.

The secretary-general repeated his call for the North to cease such actions and resume dialogue without preconditions to achieve the goal of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The spokesman issued a similar statement in May when North Korea attempted to launch what it claimed to be a military spy satellite, which also ended in failure.