North Korea Plans to Boycott Talks as U.N. Condemns Rocket Launch

More than a week after North Korea launched a rocket over northern Japan, the U.N. Security Council made it clear Monday that the action was an unacceptable violation of international law and agreed to toughen sanctions against the nation.

The council condemned the April 5 launch and said that by the end of the month it would expand sanctions established in 2006 in a resolution aimed at stopping North Korea from developing ballistic missiles and other weapons. The resolution was never fully enforced.

A Security Council committee has been asked to make sure the resolution is enforced by compiling a list of companies, banks and other organizations subject to the sanctions, as well as banned materials tied to North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The day of the launch, which North Korea said was carried out to put a satellite in orbit, the 15-member council met in a 45-minute emergency session but was unable to agree even on whether to say it was "concerned."

The announcement was contained in a statement released Tuesday by the country's Foreign Ministry.

The statement also says that North Korea would bolster its nuclear deterrent and continue to develop its space program.

The statement was the country's first reaction to the Security Council's unanimous condemnation Monday over the April 5 rocket launch, which Pyongyang says sent a satellite into space but critics say tested long-range missile technology.