UN council condemns N.Korea launch, US vows ‘serious consequences’

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council on Sunday condemned North Korea´s latest rocket launch and vowed to take "significant measures" in response to Pyongyang´s violations of UN resolutions, Venezuela´s UN ambassador said.

"The members of the Security Council strongly condemned this launch," Venezuelan Ambassador Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno, president of the council this month, told reporters.

He said the launch was "a serious violation of Security Council resolutions."

US Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters: "We will ensure that the Security Council imposes serious consequences. DPRK´s (North Korea) latest transgressions require our response to be even firmer."

The United States and China began discussing a UN sanctions resolution after Pyongyang´s Jan. 6 atomic test.