North Korea blasts off - world rattled

North Korea successfuly launches a satellite into orbit, in a move which lead to international expressions of regret and condemnation, led by the United Nations Security Council.

North Korean state TV showed these pictures on Thursday, a day after the launch.

Pyongyang says it only put a weather satellite into orbit.

But the launch is viewed by the U.S., South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead to targets as far away as the U.S.

The UN Security Council is to discuss how to respond to the launch, which it says is a breach of sanctions imposed in 2006 and 2009 that banned the North from missile and nuclear developments.

South Korea also released footage on Thursday, showing debris from the rocket about 160km west of its shores.

The satellite is orbiting the Earth normally but it is unknown whether it is functioning properly, South Korea said on Thursday.