N. Korea's launch causes worries about nukes, Iran

(CNN) -- North Korea's newly launched satellite marks a "big deal" for Pyongyang, the crossing of a major threshold and a public relations win for the secretive country's new leader, Kim Jong Un, experts say.

The success, after years of failed attempts, triggered worries among world leaders about nuclear weapons, Iran and the balance of power in the Pacific.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called the launch "clear provocation."

Experts do not believe North Korea has a nuclear warhead small enough to fly on the kind of missile that Pyongyang has now proved it can send long-distance.

And the United States believes the North Koreans may not have full control of the satellite they launched into space Wednesday, according to one U.S. official who declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.

But the launch allowed the regime to flex its military and technological muscle on the world stage.

Panetta told CNN he is "very confident" that if North Korea were to launch a missile at the United States, the U.S. military could guard against it.

North Korea silences doubters, raises fears with rocket launch

"Obviously the hope is that we never have to face that kind of threat," Panetta said. A central reason the United States is working to "rebalance the Pacific" is to deal with "the threat from North Korea," he added.

There is "a path for North Korea to end its isolation, but that requires abiding by its international obligations," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday. "... It has chosen not to, and therefore, there will be consequences for that."

Washington is leading the global response, threatening to impose sanctions on Pyongyang like those that have helped devastate Iran's economy.

Those efforts were under way Wednesday in Security Council meetings at U.N. headquarters in New York

"Members of the Security Council condemned this launch," the council said in a statement, calling it "a clear violation" of previous resolutions -- including one in April that demanded North Korea halt any launches using ballistic missile technology.

Success raises stakes for U.S. missile defense system

The council considers the issue urgent, the statement said.

Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called the statement one of the swiftest and strongest she had seen the council make about North Korea. "Now we go into the second phase" of discussions, she said: negotiations about what to do.

China and Russia, North Korean allies and two of the council's permanent members, could exercise their veto power.

The United States and other nations may impose unilateral measures, senior administration officials warned. But Pyongyang has ignored such threats before.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/12/world/asia/north-korea-rocket-launch/index.html