North Korea defies worldwide warning; launches long-range rocket

North Korean state TV said in a special announcement on Sunday lunchtime that the launch, ordered the previous day by the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, had been a “complete success”.

While a senior U.S. defense official, who confirmed the launch, said the flight trajectory did not pose a threat to the U.S. or their allies, U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice termed the launch a “serious threat” to American interests.

Isolated North Korea had initially given a February 8-25 time frame for the launch but on Saturday changed that to February 7-14, apparently taking advantage of clear weather on Sunday.

The rocket, which experts say was a test for banned missile technology, appeared to have been fired from a base in the northwest of the country.

United Nations resolutions bar the North from ballistic missile technology, but the authoritarian state is yet to be punished for its nuclear test last month.

The launch “is yet another example of the North Korean regime choosing militarism and isolation over the welfare of its own people”, said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting later on Sunday in NY over the launch, following a request by South Korea, Japan and the US.

The operation “is yet another outright and grave violation of its worldwide obligations, as set out in several UN Security Council Resolutions”, Mogherini said.

They had deployed Patriot missile batteries ready to shoot down any debris that might potentially fall on Japanese territory.

Japan’s envoy, Motohide Yoshikawa, noted North Korea had ignored numerous warnings and its launch was a violation of the Security Council resolutions, regardless of its goal, as the use of ballistic technologies was a flagrant violation of resolutions.

The launch was also seen as an example of how North Korea is willing to defy China, its one major ally that had repeatedly called on Pyongyang to not proceed with the planned launch.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said the launch was an “intolerable provocation”. US Secretary of State John Kerry said the launch was a destabilizing and unacceptable challenge to peace and security, while France called for a “rapid and tough response from the worldwide community”.

Those statements were echoed by Russia’s Foreign Ministry, which warned such actions could not but provoke a “decisive protest”, leading to “a serious aggravation of the situation on the Korean peninsula”.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and carried out several nuclear weapon tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013. “China’s position has been that talks should resume with both North Korea and the U.S.at the table”, Elise explains.

North Korea says it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme.