U.S. Prepares for Emergency Session at U.N. But Gives Few Clues About What to Do With North Korea

The Obama administration is facing its first test in an international crisis Sunday as North Korea defies international resolutions and launches a long-range missile. The Obama administration is facing its first test in an international crisis as the U.N. Security Council prepares Sunday for an emergency session to consider a response to North Korea's rocket launch earlier in the dayU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice is leading the U.S. delegation to the world body. Echoing President Obama and other administration officials, Rice called North Korea's launch "serious and provocative" and said Pyongyang's actions demonstrate why the U.S. is concerned about its capability of delivering weapons. "That's what we're most concerned about preventing, and preventing North Korea from sharing that technology with others," Rice said on ABC's "This Week." "The United States believes that this action is best dealt with -- the most appropriate response would be a United Nations Security Council resolution," she added. Speaking in Prague, Czech Republic, earlier in the day, Obama called for swift new U.N. sanctions on North Korea for what is widely deemed an effort by the communist nation to demonstrate its ability to threaten the use of long-range nuclear weapons."This action demands a response from the international community, including from the United Nations Security Council to demonstrate that its resolution cannot be defied with impunity," he said before delivering a speech on global nonproliferation.North Korea launched a multistage rocket Sunday morning local time that flew over Japanese airspace. Tokyo officials said it appears no debris hit its territory. North Korea's state-run media claimed that the rocket managed to put a satellite in orbit that is now transmitting melodies honoring the communist country's founder, Kim Il Sung, and his son, the current leader, Kim Jung-Il. It is also sending "measurement data back to Earth," North Korean media reported. But the North American Aerospace Defense Command and Northern Command said no satellite reached orbit.