North Korean rocket launch: U.N. Security Council Condemns launch

North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Sunday carrying what it called a satellite. Though North Korea said the launch was for scientific and "peaceful purposes," it is being widely viewed by other nations as a front to test a ballistic missile, especially coming on the heels of North Korea's purported hydrogen bomb test last month.

The U.S. Strategic Command said it had detected a missile entering space, and South Korea's military said the rocket had put an object into orbit.

North Korea said the launch of the satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, named after late leader Kim Jong II, was a "complete success" and it was making a polar orbit of Earth every 94 minutes. The launch order was given by his son, leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea's state news agency carried a still picture of a white rocket, which closely resembled a previously launched rocket, lifting off.

The rocket lifted off at around 9:30 a.m. Seoul time (0030 GMT) on a southward trajectory, as planned. Japan's Fuji Television Network showed a streak of light heading into the sky, taken from a camera at China's border with North Korea.

North Korea had notified United Nations agencies that it planned to launch a rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite, triggering opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the launch in an emergency meeting on Sunday, and vowed to take "significant measures" in response to Pyongyang's violations of U.N. resolutions, Venezuela's U.N. ambassador said.

Venezuelan Ambassador Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno, president of the council this month, told reporters the launch was "a serious violation of Security Council resolutions."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would work with the U.N. Security Council on "significant measures" to hold North Korea to account for what he called a flagrant violation of U.N. resolutions on North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology.

China expressed regret over the launch and called on all sides to act cautiously and refrain from steps that might raise tension. China's Foreign Ministry said late on Sunday that it had summoned the North Korean ambassador to "make representations and make clear China's principled position".

China is North Korea's main ally, but it disapproves of its nuclear weapons program.