The UN Security Council is to convene an emergency session in response to North Korea's second attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite using ballistic missile technology.

The meeting is due to take place on Friday at the request of countries including Japan and the United States.

North Korea carried out the launch on Thursday. Pyongyang said the attempt had ended in failure. That followed its first attempt, which failed in May.

The countries that requested the meeting over the latest launch say it is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology.

The US mission to the UN criticized the North Korean launches for raising tensions in Northeast Asia and beyond. It said the UNSC must denounce the North's "ongoing reckless behavior."

The Security Council has been failing to take united action over Pyongyang's repeated launches of ballistic missiles. China and Russia, which hold permanent seats on the council, maintain that the US is to blame for heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the North's latest launch on Thursday. He called on Pyongyang to "cease such acts and to swiftly resume dialogue without preconditions" with relevant countries to achieve the goal of sustainable peace reports NHK.