UNSC tightens grip over North Korea for rocket launch

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday has decided to tighten grip over already zeroed North Korea for its attempt to test long-range ballistic missile albeit the test became failed.

Strongly condemning to North Korea's rocket launch attempt UNSC called it 'a serious violation of UN resolutions' which N. Korea had made earlier this year.

In this February, Pyongyang had agreed to suspend its nuclear activities as well as long-range missile tests in return for 240,000 tonnes of US food aid.

North Korea on Friday launched Unha-3 rocket for putting a satellite into orbit, stating that the launch was timed to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the nation's late founding leader Kim Il-sung. However, the launched failed and rocket the rocket crashed into the Yellow Sea shortly after blastoff.

Releasing a warning against North Korea, UNSC said in a presidential statement Monday, "The Security Council deplores that such a launch has caused grave security concerns in the region."

The UNSC demanded that North Korea refrain from any further launches using ballistic missile technology and suspend all activities linked to its ballistic missile programme.

Ambassador Susan Rice of the US, which holds the Council's presidency in April, told reporters that the statement also provides for new sanctions.

"The Security Council directed its North Korea Sanctions Committee to designate additional North Korean entities, including companies, to be subject to an asset freeze, as well as to identify additional proliferation-sensitive technology to be banned for transfer to or from North Korea," Council's president and US Ambassador Susan Rice said.

"The Committee will also take several other actions to improve enforcement of existing sanctions," she said.

--With IANS Inputs--