North Korea Launch Divides U.N.

The United Nations Security Council has adjourned talks on North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket, with no agreement on how to respond.

Council members disagreed on whether the test was a violation of UN resolutions banning Pyongyang from firing ballistic missiles.

Ambassadors from the United States, Japan and the European Union called North Korean's actions provocative and want strong condemnation of the launch.

But Russia, China, Libya, Uganda and Vietnam called for restraint, saying the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament shouldn't be endangered.

In North Korea, a television announcement declared the success of the mission.

Doubt over launch successBut according to the US Northern Command, no object was sent into orbit. In an official statement, it said all stages of the rocket fell into the sea, including the payload.

This is the same missile technology used to deliver warheads, so North Korea's critics say it was really a secret weapons test.

South Korean Defence Minister Lee Sang-Hee also said the North had failed to put a satellite into orbit, telling parliament that "all three stages of the rocket fell into the sea.".

Revolutionary songs
North Korea, which for weeks insisted on its right to the peaceful use of space, said the satellite was broadcasting "immortal revolutionary songs" and anthems praising leader Kim Jong-Il.

"The launch vehicle and satellite, developed by our own technology, is a proud fruit of our struggle to bring the nation's space technology to a higher level," the official KCNA news agency said hours after the 2.30am GMT launch.

The newsreader said an experimental Kwangmyongsong-2 communications satellite had gone into orbit, and that this was part of North Korea's long-term plan to develop its space programs.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned the foreign ministers of China, Russia and Japan ahead of the UN Security Council meeting. But the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, stopped short of vowing to pursue fresh sanctions against North Korea. She said: "The US is working very closely with Japan and we will be in consultation with our partners inside the countril trying to get the most appropriate and strong response we can possibly get." And despite the international condemnation of North Korea, the Security Council is also likely to stop short of tough new sanctions because of opposition from veto-holders Russia and China.

Violates ban
While the rocket launch has got a number of countries hot under the collar, China is asking its Asian neighbours to be moderate.

The US says North Korea's rocket launch violates an existing UN ban on ballistic missile activity by the communist state.

President Barack Obama got news of the launch by the Pyongyang regime before he was due to give a speech in Prague about nuclear non-proliferation.

Missile fears
The US thinks the launch was a cover for a long-range missile test, which could ultimately be used to deliver a nuclear weapon.

In his speech later to a 20,000-strong crowd outside the picturesque Prague castle, Mr Obama said North Korea had broken the rules.

"This provocation underscores the need for action - not just this afternoon at the UN Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons," Mr Obama said. "Rules must be binding, violations must be punished, words must mean something. The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons.

"Now's the time for a strong international response."

Read more here.