WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. says it and key Asian allies have agreed to seek U.N. Security Council action if North Korea launches a long-range rocket this month.
Pyongyang plans the launch between Dec. 10 and 22 in defiance of a U.N. ban. Washington sees such launches as veiled tests of missiles designed to strike the United States. North Korea says it is trying to put a communications satellite into orbit.
Envoys of the U.S., Japan and South Korea met in Washington on Tuesday. State Department spokesman Mark Toner did not specify what Security Council action they might seek but said "there's always ways to toughen enforcement of sanctions."
The council condemned a failed North Korean launch in April and ordered seizure of assets of three North Korean state companies.
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