The U.N. Security Council on Thursday adopted a press statement strongly condemning North Korea's latest missile tests, saying they contribute to the communist nation's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems.

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the most recent ballistic missile launches," the council said in the statement issued a day after it held an emergency meeting to discuss the North's launches of two Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday.

The first one exploded in mid-air, but the second missile flew about 400 kilometers before landing in the East Sea in an indication of progress in the North's missile program. They represented the North's fifth and sixth tests of the missile after four failures since April.

"These repeated launches are in grave violation of the DPRK's international obligations" under a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the statement said. "The members of the Security Council deplore all DPRK ballistic missile activities noting that such activities contribute to the DPRK's development of nuclear weapons delivery systems and increase tension."

The statement also said that council members expressed serious concern that the North conducted a series of ballistic missile tests "in flagrant disregard of the repeated statements of the Security Council," and urged Pyongyang to refrain from further actions.

It also called on U.N. member states to "redouble their efforts to implement fully" U.N. sanctions on the North. "The members of the Security Council also called on Member States to report as soon as possible on concrete measures they have taken in order to implement effectively the provisions of resolution 2270" that was adopted in March in response to the North's fourth nuclear test in January.

"The members of the Security Council agreed that the Security Council would continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures in line with the Council's previously expressed determination," the statement said.

Diplomatic sources said that the statement was adopted a day after the emergency meeting as the Chinese delegation asked for more time to consult with the government in Beijing. (Yonhap)