The United States wants to have a strong, effective, coordinated response from the UN Security Council to Pyongyang's rocket launch, the State Department said on Monday.
"Consultations are continuing with key players on the Council on next steps. We want to see a strong response come from UN Security Council on this issue," said Acting Spokesman Robert Wood at a daily press briefing.
According to the Spokesman, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had phone calls on Sunday with foreign ministers of Japan, the Republic of Korea, China and Russia, to seek a strong, coordinated and effective response to the rocket launch.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said it successfully launched an "Unha-2" rocket at 11:20 a.m. local time (0220 GMT) Sunday, and sent a "Kwangmyongsong-2" satellite into orbit in about nine minutes.
South Korean and Russian reports also said it was a satellite launch, but Japan and the United States said what the DPRK launched was a "Taepodong-2 missile" and the launch was a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1718, which bans Pyongyang from conducting nuclear test or launching ballistic missiles.
"This type of missile launch is not a good thing for the international community. It's not a good thing for North Korea (DPRK) if it's trying to get back into the good graces of the world community," said Wood.
"The North is the country that took this provocative act. It is further isolating itself. Therefore, the Security Council needs to take action. And we are working hard, as I said, to try to produce something that will be effective and deal with this issue," Wood added.
At the request of Japan, the UN Security Council held an emergency session on Sunday afternoon to discuss the DPRK's rocket launch.
The President of the Security Council, Mexican UN Ambassador Claude Heller, told reporters at the end of the closed-door meeting that members of the 15-nation body "agreed to continue consultations to take appropriate actions" in response to the rocket launch.