Anchor: The UN Security Council denounced North Korea's rocket launch on Monday in a presidential statement released sooner and with stronger language compared to the council's response against the North's 2009 rocket launch. Jang Souie has this report.

Report: The UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement denouncing North Korea’s long-range rocket launch at 11 p.m. on Monday, Korean time. The language in the statement was noticeably stronger than that of the statement released by the council following the launch of North Korea's rocket in 2009. For example, “condemn” reappeared as “strongly condemn”, while “contravention” was changed to “serious violation."

The phrase “serious violation” was not included in the 2009 statement due to China’s opposition. The so-called "trigger clause" differentiates the latest statement from the previous statement. Under the trigger clause, the United Nations will automatically take punitive steps in case North Korea carries out additional provocations such as a nuclear test. The statement also says the recent launch caused “grave security concerns” in the region.

During its negotiations with the United States over the UN response to the North’s rocket launch, South Korea has insisted that the UNSC statement should include four elements; the North’s rocket launch violated UN resolutions, Pyongyang should be condemned, existing sanctions against North Korea should be tightened, and measures should be included to prevent additional provocations.

The U.S. was reportedly unsure about persuading other UNSC members to agree to include the fourth element in the statement, but eventually agreed to try it.

The South Korean government strongly pushed for the inclusion of the preventive measures in the belief that North Korea is likely to conduct a nuclear test as it did after its rocket launch in 2009.

China had been opposed to the trigger clause in its initial negotiations with the U.S., but it apparently gave in to calls from Washington due to growing dissatisfaction toward the North and concern over another nuclear test.

China’s attempt to include measures to resume the stalled six-party talks and implement the denuclearization agreement between North Korea and the U.S. has also failed. The U.S. argued that it is preposterous to engage in dialogue with the North under current circumstances, and China was left with no choice to withdrawal calls for the resumption of the talks.

Jang Souie, KBS World Radio News.