UN warns North Korea over rocket launch The United Nations Security Council has warned North Korea it will take action if it embarks on another missile or nuclear test, in a strongly worded condemnation of the rogue state's failed rocket test last week. A presidential statement, approved by all 15 members of the Security Council on Monday morning, said Friday's launch was a "serious violation" of UN sanctions and demanded that North Korea suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme. It also said it would consider adding new North Korean companies and individuals to its blacklist, as well as slapping new restrictions of goods that the state can import. "The Security Council expresses its determination to take action accordingly in the event of a further [North Korean] launch or nuclear test," said the statement, which was approved by China, a veto-wielding council member that traditionally opposes action against its volatile neighbour. A presidential statement is a lesser rebuke than a full resolution, which western countries would have difficulty persuading China to agree to, and analysts said it would have little impact on the defiant North Korean regime. But Beijing's agreement underlines its anger with Pyongyang over the missile test. "The swift and unanimous adoption of this strong presidential statement shows that the international community is united in sending a clear message to North Korea that such provocations are serious and totally unacceptable," said Susan Rice, the US's ambassador to the UN. "Critically, the Security Council made clear there will be consequences for any further North Korean launch or nuclear test," she said. Amid much fanfare, North Korea said it was attempting to put a satellite into orbit - analysts and western governments said it was a cover for a long-range missile test - on Friday, two days before the centenary of founder Kim Il-sung's birth. What was supposed to be an auspicious celebration ended in embarrassment, however, when the rocket disintegrated less than two minutes after blast-off. Kim Jong-eun, North Korea's new leader and grandson of the founder, used his first publicly televised speech at the weekend to insist that Pyongyang would never retreat from its "songun" or "military first" policy. President Barack Obama had suggested after the missile test that North Korea would be better advised to spend its money on food for its starving population rather than ballistic missiles. Although the Security Council raised the prospect of tightening existing sanctions on North Korea in response to the test, no member lobbied for fresh sanctions. That would require a resolution that China, and North Korea's erstwhile ally Russia, would almost certainly veto. The Security Council imposed sanctions against North Korea after it detonated its first nuclear device in 2006, and increased them after the second test in 2009, but has relied on sharply worded warnings to respond to missile tests.