Among the major worries that arose from the rocket launch is that the technology used to put satellites into space can also be used for ballistic missiles, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.
While notifying international agencies of its planned launch, the North had said earlier that its multistage rocket would fly over Japan's northeastern region and designated two "danger" areas.
It suggested the rocket's first booster would fall into the Sea of Japan about 130 km off the coast of Akita Prefecture, and the second into the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Hawaii.
Soon after the launch, Japan, which along with allies US and South Korea believed the North Korean action was a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test in contravention of a UNSC resolution, sought an urgent Security Council meeting.
Image: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in an undated picture released by the North's official news agency KCNA.
Photograph: KCNA/Reuters
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