A North Korean rocket fired last week appeared to have carried a satellite and to have separated in its final two stages as planned, South Korea's defence minister said Tuesday.
The three-stage rocket launched on April 5 "followed the trajectory of a satellite" although the North failed to put it into orbit, minister Lee Sang-Hee told parliament.
US officials said the first stage landed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) while the payload fell with the last stage in the Pacific Ocean. They did not say whether the last two stages separated before crashing.
Lee said that while the North failed to put a satellite in orbit, it could use the launch to improve its long-range missile technology.
"Even though it followed the trajectory of a satellite, North Korea could still develop a long-range missile propellant or (missile) control technology," he said.
Lee also told a separate closed-door session that the final two stages separated as planned, according to ruling party MP Yoo Seong-Min quoted by Yonhap news agency.
The North says it launched a communications satellite while the United States and its allies say its purpose was to test a long-range missile.
The UN Security Council Monday agreed to tighten existing sanctions imposed on the North under Resolution 1718 of 2006, which had demanded that it refrain from a further nuclear test or another ballistic missile launch.
Pyongyang said it would quit six-nation disarmament talks and restart its nuclear weapons programme in protest.
