UNSC to condemn North Korean rocket launch

After several days of closed-door haggling, the UN Security Council is hoping to adopt a statement on Monday condemning North Korea's botched rocket launch, council diplomats said. US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Friday that the members of the 15-nation Security Council "deplored" North Korea's failed bid to launch a long-range rocket but that the council would continue talks on a formal condemnation of the actions of the hermit state. Diplomats said on condition of anonymity that China, North Korea's closest ally, was pushing for a softer rebuke than the one favoured by the United States, which holds this month's Security Council presidency. "Unless China raises objections overnight, we'll adopt a presidential Statement on DPRK (North Korea) tomorrow at 10:00 am (1400 GMT)," a Western diplomat said. Unlike resolutions, council statements are not voted on but are adopted unanimously. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, has also deplored the rocket launch. North Korea admitted its long-range rocket failed to deliver a satellite into orbit on Friday while US and South Korean officials said it crashed into the sea a few minutes after launch. Diplomats said no council member had pushed the idea of imposing sanctions on Pyongyang in retaliation for the launch, something China and Russia would have opposed. US and other Western officials have said the launch violated a UN ban on the use of ballistic missile technology by North Korea, a measure the Security Council imposed on Pyongyang in the wake of its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.