South Korea's top diplomat on Saturday called for a swift adoption of a strong U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution to punish North Korea for its latest missile provocation in an emergency meeting with her staff.

The North launched what it claimed to be a second and improved intercontinental ballistic missile late Friday night, which flew more than 1,000 kilometers at the maximum altitude of around 3,700 km before landing in the waters between Korea and Japan.

"We should talk with friendly countries to convene an emergency UNSC meeting and swiftly induce a strong sanctions resolution (against the North)," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told his staff.

Kang also urged her staff to closely review ways that lead allies to take additional countermeasures against the latest provocation.

She said that the North's latest missile launch doesn't fit with its long-held patterns in terms of its timing and location, and worried that it is demonstrating a "significant" improvement in terms of missile technology.

She still cautioned against action that could undermine President Moon Jae-in's recently unveiled North Korea approach that appears to be leaning toward dialogue.