North
Korea leader Kim Jong-un has largely ignored warnings from the international community.
North
Korea has launched a long-range rocket, violating UN resolutions and doubling
down against an international community already determined to punish Pyongyang
for a nuclear test last month.
State media said on
Sunday the launch to put a satellite into space was a "complete
success" and vowed to continue launching satellites in the future.
Pyongyang labelled
the launch part of a purely scientific space programme, but most of the world
viewed it as a disguised ballistic missile test.
The rocket took off at
around 9:00am Pyongyang time (00:30 GMT), according to the South Korean defence
ministry.
Its pre-orbital flight
arc was planned to traverse the Yellow Sea and further south to the Philippine Sea,
with both South Korea and Japan threatening to shoot it down if it encroached
on their territory.
Multiple
UN Security Council resolutions proscribe North Korea's development of its
ballistic missile programme.
Despite Pyongyang's
insistence on a peaceful space mission, its rockets are considered dual-use
technology with both civil and military applications.
The UN Security Council
will hold an emergency meeting later on Sunday in New York over the launch,
following a request by South Korea, Japan and the US.
UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon called the launch "deeply deplorable" and urged North Korea
to "halt its provocative actions".
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