North Korea risks fresh sanctions for launch

North Korea launched a long-range rocket yesterday carrying what it called a satellite, but its neighbours and the US denounced the launch as a missile test, conducted in defiance of UN sanctions and just weeks after a nuclear bomb test.

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

The U.N. Security Council responded at an emergency meeting last night by issuing a statement strongly condemning the rocket launch and pledging to “expeditiously” adopt a new resolution with “significant” new sanctions.