A North Korean long-range rocket is launched at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, Feb. 7, 2016. Korea Times file

By Kim Yoo-chul

South Korea will attend the upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting which will be held early Thursday (KST) at the request of the United States, Seoul's foreign ministry said, Tuesday.

Foreign ministry spokesman Kim In-chul told reporters in a regular briefing at the ministry's headquarters in downtown Seoul that South Korea is "discussing with the United States and other countries, regarding North Korea's recent tests very thoroughly."

Kim didn't elaborate on the specifics of the discussion or Seoul's position regarding the North's latest provocations.

But another ministry official said South Korea will "speak out" during the UNSC meeting.

The Trump administration asked the UNSC to officially discuss the North's recent test and "the possibility of an escalatory" provocation from Pyongyang, the U.S. State Department confirmed.

The North's Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said Sunday the country had carried out a "very important test" at a missile testing site the North had previously promised to completely dismantle. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set the end of this year as a deadline for the resumption of denuclearization negotiations with the United States. A senior North Korean official threatened that it is up to Washington to decide which "Christmas gift" it would like to receive.