HANOI -- Vietnam has criticized the North's latest test-launch of a second intercontinental ballistic missile, calling on Pyongyang to comply with UN Security Council resolutions, government officials said Wednesday.

Le Thi Thu Hang, spokeswoman of Vietnam's Foreign Ministry, said in a press conference the previous day the country "is deeply concerned about the continued test of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on July 28, 2017, which seriously violates relevant UN Security Council resolutions and escalates tension in the region." She used North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Hang also said Vietnam consistently supports efforts to promote dialogue and maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The Southeast Asian country has maintained friendly relations with the North, but has been critical of its nuclear and missile programs.

Last year, Vietnam in effect expelled an official of a North Korean bank blacklisted by the UN Security Council in a March 2016 sanctions resolution.

The measure marked Hanoi's first implementation of the council's new sanctions in response to the North's fourth nuclear test in January 2016 and its subsequent rocket launch using ballistic missile technology. (Yonhap)