Seoul - South Korea on Tuesday welcomed a statement by the United Nations Security Council condemning North Korea's rocket launch earlier this month. "North Korea will have to clearly recognize that the international community issued a stern and unified stance through the Security Council's presidential statement and refrain from provocative acts undermining the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and North-East Asia," Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said.

The Security Council on Monday condemned North Korea's launch of a rocket on April 5 and urged the country to refrain from further missile tests.

The so-called presidential statement fell short of full resolution status because of opposition from China and Russia, which hold two of the five veto votes on the 15-member council.

Pyongyang claimed the launch was to shoot a communications satellite into orbit, but the United States, South Korea and Japan believe it served as a cover for a long-range missile test.

The White House welcomed the "clear and united message" which confirmed that the launch "violates international law and would result in real consequences for North Korea," spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

"The international community is united in demanding that North Korea abandon its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, and that it refrain from further provocations," he said. (dpa)