South Korea wants more sanctions against North over rocket

South Korea has called for tougher sanctions against the North as protests continued against Pyongyang’s rocket launch on Wednesday.

The government in Seoul admitted the operation was successful but again claimed the real reason was to develop a long-range ballistic missile, not as North Korea says, to put a weather satellite into orbit.

The UN Security Council is weighing has condemned the launch in defiance of a ban and is considering its response. The South wants action.

“North Korea ignored the Security Council’s resolutions and international community’s warnings. We believe more advanced measures should be taken than those in April,” said South Korean Foreign Ministry spokseman Cho Tai-Young.

The Defence Ministry in Seoul said some debris from the rocket had been found, and it released a still photo. It said the wreckage looked like the propellant of a long-range missile.

State media in Pyongyang, which have broadcast pictures of the rocket launch, have said immortal revolutionary hymns from the satellite echo in space.

The launch came almost a year after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

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