The foreign ministers of Group of Seven(G7) nations condemned North Korea’s launch of a military spy satellite in a joint statement on Wednesday.

In the statement, the top diplomats condemned  “in the strongest terms” the North’s launch involving ballistic missile technology as a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, adding that it poses a serious threat to peace and stability in the region and beyond.

The ministers then reiterated their call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urged Pyongyang “to abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.”

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also strongly denounced the satellite launch for violating multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Stoltenberg said Pyongyang’s launch not only raises tensions in the region but also poses a serious threat to regional and international security.

[Photo : YONHAP News]