No UN agreement over North Korea's rocket launch
Emergency talks at UN security council over controversial North Korean satellite launch end without agreement
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Monday, 06, Apr 2009 11:50
An emergency meeting of the United Nations security council over a controversial North Korean satellite launch has ended without an agreement being reached.
The security council will meet on Sunday evening after a Japanese request for a meeting was approved, though council members China and Russia are expected to call for restraint in handling North Korea.
The launch had provoked condemnation from North Korea's neighbours and other nations though it was later claimed the satellite launch failed had failed.
The US and South Korea disputed North Korean claims of the satellite's successful flight, saying its first stage had landed in the Sea of Japan before its remaining stages and payload fell into the Pacific Ocean.
The US, UK and Japan had all criticised the 02:30 BST launch, which North Korea maintains is part of a peaceful space development programme.
The US and North Korea's neighbours fear the rocket launch is part of a bid to develop long-range ballistic missile technology, which breaches UN resolutions.
President Obama had earlier told Pyongang to "refrain from further provocative actions".
"North Korea broke the rules once more by testing a rocket that could be used for a long-range missile," the US head of state told a crowd in Prague, Czech Republic.
"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."
British foreign secretary David Miliband said he "strongly condemned" the launch which Washington, Tokyo and Seoul believe are in breach of UN security council resolution 1718.