Seoul, Feb 15 (IANS): North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has promised to launch more satellites into space amid widespread condemnation of last week's long-range rocket launch, the media reported on Monday.

At a banquet on Saturday, Kim congratulated the scientists, technicians, workers and officials who contributed to the successful launch of the Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite on February 7, noting that it came at a complex time "in which the hostile forces were getting ever more frantic to suffocate" the nation, EFE news reported citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The leader then called for scientific research "to hit a higher target with the present great success as a springboard for greater victory and, thus, launch more working satellites" in the future.

Attendees of the event included First Lady Ri Sol-ju, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong-nam, and top military official Hwang Pyong-so.

Pyongyang's February 7 rocket launch has been widely criticised by the international community who have widely viewed it as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The launch came just a month after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test.