On April 13, eight days after North Korea's rocket launch, the U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned the action, demanded an end to missile tests and said it will expand sanctions against the reclusive communist nation.

Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Yukio Takasu speaks in New York on April 13. AP PHOTO

North Korea said in response that it will boycott the stalled six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons program and restore the nuclear facilities it had been disabling.

The council's statement, agreed on by all 15 members and read at a formal meeting of the United Nations' most powerful body, said the launch violated a council resolution adopted after the North conducted a nuclear test explosion in 2006 that banned any missile tests by the country.

The statement was weaker than a U.N. resolution, sought by Japan and the United States, but opposed by China and Russia.

Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Yukio Takasu, calling his country the most threatened by the rocket launch, said his government was "very pleased" by the unanimous message to North Korea that it conducted a "very provocative act" and violated the 2006 resolution.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement April 14 that it "resolutely condemns" the U.N. action, and that it "rampantly" infringes upon the country's sovereignty and "severely debases" the people's dignity.

"We have no choice but to further strengthen our nuclear deterrent to cope with additional military threats by hostile forces," it said.

The Foreign Ministry also said that "six-party talks that we are taking part in are not necessary any more."