North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket on Sunday is a "clear and deliberate" violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, Reuters quoted British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond as saying. North Korea said the rocket was carrying a satellite, but its neighbours and the United States denounced the launch as a missile test, conducted in defiance of U.N. sanctions and just weeks after a nuclear bomb test. "I strongly condemn North Korea's ballistic missile technology test. This is a clear and deliberate violation of a number of U.N. Security Council Resolutions. North Korea's actions continue to present a threat to regional and international security," Hammond said in a statement.
