North Korea's Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Hwasong-14 was believed to be launched successfully on July 4, 2017 (Photo: Yonhap/VNA)

The UN Security Council will meet on Thursday to discuss North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile test early Tuesday. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the test-firing, warning that it “constitutes a dangerous escalation of the situation”.

Russia and China unanimously called on North Korea, South Korea and the US to embrace a de-escalation project relating to Pyongyang missile testing. The call was included in a joint statement issued shortly after talks in the Kremlin between President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It calls on North Korea  to suspend ballistic missile program and on the United States and South Korea to cancel large-scale joint drills.