UNITED NATIONS – Japan's vice minister for foreign affairs says the U.N. Security Council's credibility will become "doubtful" unless it reacts quickly to North Korea's rocket launch.
Shintaro Ito said Thursday there must be "swift action for these serious violations." North Korea claims it put a legitimate satellite into orbit when it fired a ballistic missile Sunday over Japan. The second and third booster stages of the rocket and the payload fell into the Pacific Ocean.
A 2006 U.N. council resolution prohibited North Korea from launching a ballistic missile and demanded it suspend testing.
Ito called the launch "a serious problem" for global security and a "big test" for the U.N.
He spoke before the deadlocked council's five permanent members and Japan held their third private meeting to discuss it since Sunday.
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