North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket violates UN Security Council resolutions and shows the country presents a “threat to regional and international security”, Philip Hammond said.
The Foreign Secretary condemned the “ballistic missile technology test” and warned that the UN had previously agreed to take “significant measures” against further launches by Pyongyang.
An emergency session of the Security Council has been called in response to the launch, at the request of the US and Japan.
Mr Hammond said: ” I strongly condemn North Korea’s ballistic missile technology test. This is a clear and deliberate violation of a number of UN Security Council Resolutions. North Korea’s actions continue to present a threat to regional and international security.
“In conducting this provocation, North Korea has clearly demonstrated that it is intent on prioritising the development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes over improving the well-being of its own people.
“As North Korea is aware, the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to take significant measures against any further launches or nuclear tests.
We will now meet with our partners in New York to agree a collective response.”
Pyongyang defied international warnings in going ahead with the launch just over a month after the secretive state carried out what it claimed was its first successful test of a hydrogen bomb.
The test was followed swiftly by condemnation from South Korea, Japan and the international community.
A spokesman for UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said the launch came despite the “united plea of the international community against such an act”.
South Korea president Park Geun-hye labelled the launch an “intolerable provocation” that was motivated by maintaining North Korea leader Kim Jong Un’s primacy in spite of the suffering of the country’s people.
US s ecretary of state John Kerry labelled the test “a flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions”.
Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said “we absolutely cannot allow this” as reports emerged that the rocket flight was visible from the southern island of Okinawa.
He added: “We will take action to totally protect the safety and well-being of our people.”
North Korea’s main ally China responded with a rare show of criticism of the country.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said they “regret that, disregarding the opposition from the international community, the (North) side obstinately insisted in carrying out a launch by using ballistic missile technologies”.
North Korea under leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy meant to collapse its government.
The rocket was fired from a launch pad on North Korea’s west coast between 9.30am and 9.35am local time (1.00am-1.05am GMT) on a southern trajectory over the East China Sea.
Debris from the rocket crashed back to earth around 155 miles off the south-west coast of the Korean Peninsula around 14 minutes after take-off.
Footage from Japan’s NHK broadcaster showed an object visible from the southern island of Okinawa believed to be the rocket in flight.
There was speculation that the test had in fact been a failure, although North Korea has had some success with past launches.
In December 2012 it successfully put a satellite into orbit, drawing condemnation from the international community.
Pyongyang claimed the latest rocket launch had successfully delivered a satellite into orbit and vowed to continue launching satellites in future.
In a statement read on the state-run channel North Korean TV an announcer said the launch had been ordered by Mr Kim.
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