South Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations said that his country will directly call a UN Security Council(UNSC) meeting over any North Korean provocation if needed as Seoul begins its two-year term as a nonpermanent member.

Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook made the remarks to reporters on Tuesday following a flag installation ceremony for the newly elected UNSC members at UN headquarters in New York.

Hwang also referred to regime leader Kim Jong-un's recent characterization of inter-Korean relations as a state of war between two hostile countries as a development that should not be taken lightly.

The ambassador said that although there are no North Korea-related issues on the UNSC agenda in January, South Korea has the right to request a Council meeting if needed, adding that he asked other member countries to cooperate during a breakfast on Tuesday.

The flags of the five newly-elected member states of the Security Council for the 2024-to-2025 term – South Korea, Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Slovenia – were ceremonially installed on Tuesday, marking the official start of their tenure on the Council.