U.S. officials criticized North Korea on Monday over a reported test-firing of a ballistic missile from a submarine, saying it would constitute a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning such acts.
"Any type of launch of this nature would violate at least four UNSC resolutions and is another example of North Korea's unwillingness to play by the international rules," Col. Steven Warren, a spokesman of the Defense Department, told reporters.
Warren stopped short of confirming Saturday's report by the official Korean Central News Agency that Pyongyang has successfully conducted a test-firing of a ballistic missile from a submarine in the sea in an unspecified area, saying, "We're aware of the reporting."
Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, told a separate press briefing that the United States will keep calling on North Korea "to refrain from actions that further raise tensions in the region" and to fulfill its international commitments and obligations.
The U.N. Security Council has adopted resolutions that ban North Korea from conducting any kind of activities using technology for ballistic missile launches in reaction to the country's nuclear tests and test-launches of long-range missiles.