S.Korea questions qualifications of N.Korea as UN member

South Korea has officially questioned the qualifications of North Korea as a member of the United Nations, citing that the secretive communist state continues to harm international order and security.

South Korea's United Nations Ambassador Oh Joon raised the question during a meeting earlier this week of the U.N. Security Council, saying the North has pledged to abide by the obligations of the U.N. Charter upon joining the world body in 1991, along with South Korea, but continues not to do so.

Oh was quoted as saying at the UNSC meeting that North Korea's denial of U.N. resolutions "is not only a direct challenge to the authority of the Security Council, but also a contradiction to both the letter and spirit of the pledge it made."

It was the first time South Korea has made such comments on the North's U.N. membership.

The ambassador also said that the Pyongyang regime has conducted four nuclear tests and six long-range rocket launches over the past decade, all breaching its international duties, including four separate resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.