TOKYO/SEOUL: North Korea fired a long-range rocket yesterday, provoking international outrage and prompting the UN Security Council to call an emergency meeting.
The reclusive communist state said a satellite was launched into orbit and circled the earth transmitting revolutionary songs. The US military and South Korea said it had failed to enter orbit.
Analysts say the launch was effectively a test of a ballistic missile designed to carry a warhead potentially as far as the US state of Alaska. North Korea can use the same rocket — the Taepodong-2 — to launch satellites and test missiles.
It was the first big challenge for US President Barack Obama in dealing with the North, whose efforts to build a nuclear arsenal have long plagued ties with Washington.
“With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations,” Obama said, speaking during a European tour.
Addressing a crowd in Prague, Obama committed himself to reducing the US nuclear arsenal and said Washington would seek to engage all nuclear weapons states in arms reduction efforts.
Obama remained committed to talks to “denuclearize” North Korea, the White House said.
South Korea branded the launch a “reckless” act, Japan said it was “extremely regrettable” and the European Union condemned Pyongyang’s step. NATO condemned it as “highly provocative.”
“There is only one response possible: the union of the international community must punish a regime that doesn’t respect any international rules,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
China, the nearest North Korea has to a major ally, and Russia called on all sides to exercise restraint.
The United States, Japan and South Korea see the launch as a violation of a Security Council resolution passed in 2006 after Pyongyang’s nuclear test and other missile tests. That resolution, No. 1718, demands North Korea “suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program.”
Both Russia and China have made clear they would block new sanctions by the Security Council, where they have veto power.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called officials in the United States, Russia, Japan and South Korea to discuss the launch, the Foreign Ministry said.
“All sides ought to look at the big picture (and) avoid taking actions which may exacerbate the situation further,” a Chinese statement said.
Using similar language, Russia’s foreign minister called on the international community to demonstrate a “balanced approach and caution” during the Security Council discussions.
A US official said the launch was unsuccessful but that did not change the response the United States was seeking at the United Nations.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo had said before the launch that in reality it would be a test of the Taepodong-2, which is designed to fly an estimated 6,700 km.
The US Northern Command said stage one of the missile fell into the Sea of Japan and the remaining stages along with the payload landed in the Pacific Ocean. No debris fell on Japan.
The command assessed the launch vehicle was not a threat to North America or Hawaii and took no action in response.
South Korea earlier said the rocket appeared to be carrying a satellite but Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee later told Parliament that it failed to enter orbit, Kyodo news agency reported.
Japan said it stopped monitoring the rocket after it had passed 2,100 km east of Tokyo.
In the only previous test flight of the Taepodong-2, in July 2006, the rocket blew apart 40 seconds after launch.
Analysts said the rocket launch may bolster North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s authority after a suspected stroke last August raised doubts about his grip on power.
