US says N.Korea cannot threaten others with impunity

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WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - North Korea's rocket launch on Sunday is a provocative act and will lead the United States to take appropriate steps to show Pyongyang it cannot threaten other nations with impunity, the U.S. State Department said.

"The launch by the North Koreans is seen as a provocative act and will prompt the United States to take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it cannot threaten the safety and security of (other) countries with impunity," State Department spokesman Fred Lash told reporters in a conference call.

"North Korea's development, deployment and proliferation of ballistic missiles, missile-related materials, equipment and technologies pose a serious threat to (the) northeast Asian region and to the international community," Lash added.

The spokesman repeated the U.S. position that the launch, which he earlier said took place at 0230 GMT on Sunday, violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718, which was passed in 2006 after North Korea tested a nuclear device.

Lash said he had no detailed information on whether the North Korean rocket had carried any payload. Pyongyang had said it planned to launch a communications satellite. The United States, Japan and South Korea have said they believe the launch was to be a test of Pyongyang's Taepodong-2 missile. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Philip Barbara)