China, Russia 'Regret' N. Korea Rocket Launch

China's foreign ministry said Wednesday it regretted North Korea's long-range rocket launch, echoing a similar reaction from Russia and following strong condemnation from the United States.

"We express regret at the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's launch in spite of the extensive concerns of the international community," China foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

Similarly, Russia said on Wednesday that it deeply regretted North Korea's long-range rocket launch, and warned it would do nothing to help regional stability.

"Russia deeply regrets the new rocket launch undertaken by North Korea in defiance of international opinion, including calls by Moscow," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The launch would "not help the strengthening of stability and would have a negative effect" on the situation in the region, it added.

Russia said it was "unacceptable" that the launch flew in the face of UN Security Council resolution 1874 that bans North Korea from the use of ballistic missile technology in rocket launches.

It called on North Korea to refrain from any new steps that would contradict UN Security Council resolutions but also urged "other sides" not to take actions that could further raise tensions.

Earlier Wednesday, North Korea fired a long-range rocket, just days before the first anniversary of its former ruler's death.

Pyongyang insisted the mission was not a banned intercontinental missile test but was designed to place a scientific satellite in orbit, and said it had achieved all its objectives.

The Russian defence ministry said that trajectory of the rocket had not taken it over Russian territory.

"Experts are now looking at data to determine whether a new satellite is in orbit," the spokesman of the defence ministry's airspaces forces Alexei Zolotukhin told Interfax.