Tokyo: North Korea fired a rocket over Japan on Sunday, defying Washington, Tokyo and others who suspect the launch was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology.
In response, Tokyo requested an emergency session of the Security Council, spokesman Yutaka Arima said.
The European Union has condemned the rocket launch, saying it breaches a United Nations resolution.
The Czech EU presidency said the launch put "additional strains on regional stability" and urged North Korea to suspend activities that could be linked to a ballistic missile programme.
US President Barack Obama warned the move would further isolate the communist nation. The UN Security Council approved an emergency session for Sunday afternoon in New York.
US State Department spokesman Fred Lash confirmed the event, saying, "We look on this as a provocative act."
He said the launch "will prompt the United States to take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it cannot threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity."
The Japanese Defence Ministry detected a "flying object" that was launched from North Korea, flew eastward and passed over northern Japan about seven minutes later, heading toward the Pacific Ocean.
Japan did not make any attempt to intercept it, as no debris fell onto the country, a ministry spokeswoman said.
"Our primary concern is to confirm safety and gather information," Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso told a news conference at his Tokyo office on Sunday.
Japan had threatened to shoot down any debris from the rocket if the launch went wrong. It had positioned batteries of interceptor missiles on its coast and radar-equipped ships off its northern seas.
Should the international community be stricter in such matters? Or do you think North Korea has the right to launch the rocket?
Your comments
No one has the right to do tests of missile technology outside its own territory.
Marttin Saaied
Bbuenos aires,Argentina
Posted: April 06, 2009, 08:54
