(VOVworld) – On Sunday the UN Security Council strongly condemned North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket and vowed to adopt a new sanctions resolution in response to “these dangerous and serious violations”.

A North Korean long-range rocket is launched into the air at the Sohae rocket launch site, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo February 7, 2016 . (Photo: Kyodo/Reuters)

But during the emergency meeting, the Council insisted its commitment “to continue working toward a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”.

The meeting was convened upon requests of the US, Japan, and South Korea. Though North Korea said the launch was for scientific and peaceful purposes, it is being widely viewed by other nations to serve both civil and military purposes.