There will be no immediate action against North Korea by the UN Security Council although the country breached council resolutions when it launched a rocket over Japan.

An emergency meeting agreed instead to continue discussions on what response it should make given the "serious situation."

"Members of the Security Council agreed to continue consultations on the appropriate reaction by the council in accordance with its responsibilities given the urgency of the matter," Mexico's U.N. Ambassador Claude Heller said.

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North Korea, which has tested a nuclear device and is in stalled six-party talks about ending its nuclear program, is banned from firing ballistic missiles.

The US President said Pyongyang must pay a price for the launch.

"Rules must be binding, violations must be punished, words must mean something," Barack Obama said.