On Sunday the UN Security Council condemned North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket that world leaders called a banned test of ballistic missile technology and another “intolerable provocation”.
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The launch is seen as the cover for Pyongyang’s advancement of ballistic missile technology that could be used to deliver a nuclear weapon, renewing global condemnation after its fourth nuclear test a month ago.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported that the rocket took off on a southward trajectory from a north-western Sohae satellite launching station.
“The successful launch of the satellite “Kwangmyongsong-4″ gave the people and the army great courage and pride”.
The Pentagon said Monday that talks with South Korea to discuss the possibility of moving a terminal high-altitude area defense, or THAAD system, would begin in days.
North Korea says the satellite launch was for peaceful and scientific research purposes, but global powers fear that the launch was a part of Pyongyang’s development of its ballistic missile program.
After an emergency meeting at the United Nations headquarters in NY on Sunday, members of the Security Council accused North Korea of defying repeated warnings with an action that constitutes “a clear threat to worldwide peace and security”.
He told CBS that the United States was consulting with officials in South Korea for the first time about introducing further missile defence capabilities.
Proposed sanctions have not been made public, but one diplomat said that Washington was hoping to tighten worldwide restrictions on North Korea’s banking system.
He also noted the vital importance of continued close communication and cooperation among the US, Japan, and South Korea in addressing the threats posed by the DPRK.
Experts believe that global community should not read too much into the statement issued by China’s Foreign Ministry.
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South Korea has refuted China’s claim and blamed its neighbor for trying to “influence” Seoul’s own security policy.
