UN Security Council Discusses NK Missile Launch

Pyongyang, North Korea (CNN) — The U.N. Security Council met Friday to discuss North Korea’s botched rocket launch amid concerns that the secretive and often unpredictable regime will try to recover from its embarrassing failure with a nuclear test or military move.

“Members of the Security Council deplored this launch,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who said she was speaking on behalf of the council. “Members of the Security Council agreed to continue consultations on an appropriate response, in accordance with its responsibilities given the urgency of the matter.”

The rocket broke apart 81 seconds into its launch Friday morning, then fell into the ocean, according to a U.S. official.

The launch drew condemnation from United States and countries in the region, as well as an unusual admission of failure from Pyongyang. The normally secretive regime has previously insisted that failed launches had actually been successful.

“Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said in a report, which was also read out in a news broadcast on state-run television.