UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council is condemning North Korea's rocket launch and is expanding sanctions against the country.
It is the council's first response to the April 5 launch.
The council's statement makes clear that the launch violated a 2006 council resolution which bans any missile tests by the country and it demands an end to further launches.
All 15 members agreed on the text and the statement was read at a formal meeting of the UN's most powerful body by the current council president, Mexico's UN Ambassador Claude Heller.
The presidential statement is a weaker response than a council resolution which Japan and the United States wanted -- but which the North's closest allies China and Russia opposed.
