The United Nations Security Council has condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and expressed concern over the country's increasingly destabilizing behavior and defiance of the 15-member body, al-Hurra TV reported.

Pyongyang fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan's northwest coast on Monday, angering South Korea and Japan, days after it promised retaliation over US-South Korea military drills it sees as preparation for war.

The Security Council is due to meet behind closed doors on Wednesday to be briefed on the missile launches.

In a statement on Tuesday, the council deplored the missile launches, saying that "such activities contribute to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension in the region and beyond as well as the risk of a regional arms race."

Source: MENA