SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched a rocket at 11:30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT), which was confirmed by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
The South Korean government confirmed that the vehicle fired off by the DPRK from its Musudan-ri base on Sunday was a satellite, Yonhap said.
"We believe North Korea fired a rocket carrying a satellite," the official told Yonhap.
But Seoul is still checking whether a satellite has been put in orbit, the official said.
Russia's Interfax news agency also said that a satellite is apparently carried by the rocket according to Russian air defense radar detection.
However, US President Barack Obama who is visiting Europe said what the DPRK launched Sunday was a "Taepo-dong 2 missile" and it was a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said his country is yet to confirm whether the rocket carried a ballistic missile or a communications satellite.
No damage to Japanese territory has been reported as a result of the launch and nothing has fallen on Japan so far, Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted the top Japanese government spokesman as saying. The Japanese government did not launch interceptor against Pyongyang's rocket. [Full Story]
However, the Japanese government said the launch violated UN Security Council resolutions whether it was a satellite or a missile.
The UN Security Council approved an emergency session Sunday to deal with the launch after Japan submitted a formal request letter.
In the wake of the launch, the US State Department said it will take appropriate steps in response to what it called a "provocative act."
Obama said the six-party talks will continue providing the forum for achieving denuclearization and reducing tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
Pyongyang noticed international agencies that it would launch a communications satellite between 11 am and 4 pm (0200 GMT and 0700 GMT) on April 4-8.
The DPRK declared on February 24 that its launching of the satellite was part of a peaceful space program and it is entitled to develop its own space program and other countries like the United States have no rights to interfere.
The DPRK said it put an experimental satellite "Kwangmyongsong- 1" into orbit in August 1998. But the US said that it was a " Taepodong-1" missile test-launch.
