North Korea has criticized United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for urging the North to withdraw its plan to launch a long-range rocket.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday said that Ban’s comments during the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit regarding the North's Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite are inappropriate for the head of an international organization.

The agency said that Ban, as a Korean, should welcome the North’s rocket launch for peaceful purposes, but instead he is joining North Korea’s hostile forces, such as the U.S. and Japan, in attacking the North. It added that Ban’s such unfair behavior undermines the status of the UN, which is an institution that must seek fairness at all times.

The UN chief on Tuesday called on Pyongyang to cancel its plan to launch a rocket during his keynote speech for the summit.