SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea defiantly carried out a provocative rocket launch Sunday that the U.S., Japan and other nations suspect was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology. Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230GMT) Sunday from the coastalMusudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean government said. In Washington, the State Department also confirmed the launch. The rocket flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese broadcaster NHK said, citing its government. "Our primary concern is to confirm safety and gather information,"Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso told a news conference at his Tokyo office Sunday. Resisting calls from President Barack Obama, Aso and Hu Jintao of China to call off the launch, North Korea had announced Saturday that preparations were complete to send communications satelliteKwangmyongsong-2 on a multistage rocket bound for the skies over Japan. Tokyo deployed warships and Patriot missile interceptors off its northern coast to shoot down any debris that the North said might fall over the area. U.S. and South Korean warships equipped with missile interceptors also plied the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan to monitor the launch. Russia, meanwhile, scrambled fighter jets to its Far East in case any debris hits its territory, Russian news reports said. North Korea pushed ahead with the launch despite mounting international pressure to cancel a liftoff Obama warned Friday would be a "provocative" act. South Korea, the U.S. and Japan said earlier in the week they would take North Korea to the U.N. Security Council for an act they say is banned under a 2006 resolution barring Pyongyang from ballisti North Korea has launched a rocket, despite international appeals not to go ahead. Officials from Japan, South Korea and the US confirmed lift-off at 0230 GMT. The rocket appeared to have passed over Japan to the Pacific, Tokyo said. North Korea says it is sending a satellite into orbit, but its neighbours suspect the launch could be a cover for a long-range missile test. The US called it "provocative", while Japan said it was "regrettable". The South Korean government said it would "deal firmly and resolutely" with Pyongyang. The rocket blasted off just before midday on Sunday from the Musudan-ri launch pad in the north-east of North Korea. "The projectile launched from North Korea today appears to have passed over towards the Pacific," the Japanese prime minister's office said in a statement. The US State Department and South Korea's presidential office also confirmed the launch. Japan said it did not try to intercept the rocket, as it had indicated that it would if its territory was threatened. North Korea's neighbours say the launch violates United Nations resolutions.Japan requests emergency meeting of UN Security Council
N. Korea launches rocket, defying world pressure
North Korea 'has launched rocket'
The launch pad on the north-east coast has been picked up on satellite images
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