South Korea has referred North Korea to a UN sanctions committee over its recent test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the Yonhap cited the South Korean Foreign Ministry as saying Tuesday.

On May 9, North Korea claimed it successfully carried out an SLBM test underwater, renewing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. If confirmed, the test would be a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that ban any launch by North Korea that uses ballistic missile technology.

South Korea has sent a letter to the UN Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee to ask it to address the issue, according to ministry's spokesman Noh Kwang-il.

"Therefore, I understand that there will be consultations within the Security Council's sanctions committee," he said during a press briefing.