A UN agency tasked with overseeing the safety and security of maritime shipping has adopted its first-ever resolution to condemn North Korea's repeated missile launches.

The 175-member International Maritime Organization, or IMO, held a safety committee session in London on Wednesday. It passed a draft resolution submitted by 13 countries, including Japan, South Korea and the United States.

The resolution says North Korea conducted missile launches without proper notification, which "seriously threatened the safety of seafarers and international shipping."

It says the IMO "urgently" calls on Pyongyang to "cease unlawful and unannounced ballistic missile launches across international shipping lanes."

North Korea failed in its attempt to launch what it calls a military reconnaissance satellite on Wednesday. This came only two days after Pyongyang notified the Japan Coast Guard of a launch window. Global maritime rules stipulate that such notifications must come at least five days in advance.

North Korea responded to the resolution, claiming the document does not take into account the special security environment surrounding the Korean Peninsula and that Pyongyang is technically at war with Washington.

North Korea also insists the resolution is a ploy inspired by the desire of the US and its followers to isolate and suffocate Pyongyang.