North Korea has hailed its latest long-range rocket launch as an "epochal event" but the move prompted international anger and plans for talks on a US missile defence system for the peninsula.

Key points: Outrage after North Korea launches rocket in defiance of UN orders

Outrage after North Korea launches rocket in defiance of UN orders US allies see rocket as a weapons test, North Korea insists it is carrying satellite

US allies see rocket as a weapons test, North Korea insists it is carrying satellite Experts say technology not a real threat at present time

Pyongyang's state TV announced it successfully put a satellite into orbit, "legitimately exercising the right to use space for independent and peaceful purposes".

But many other nations saw a clear defiance of multiple UN resolutions - a disguised test of a ballistic missile which could one day deliver a warhead as far as the US mainland.

The United Nations labelled the launch "deeply deplorable" and Japan termed it "absolutely intolerable". Even the isolated state's sole major ally China expressed "regret".

The satellite, Kwangmyongsong-4, is orbiting the earth every 94 minutes and the North would continue to launch satellites in future, the state TV broadcast said.

North Korean television showed pictures of Kim Jong-un attending the rocket launch on Sunday. ( AFP/Yonghap )

Images were also released showing North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un celebrating the mission with military officials.

North Korea had notified UN agencies it planned to launch a rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite, triggering opposition from governments that see it as a long-range missile test.

The rocket was launched on a southward trajectory as planned, passing over Japan's southern Okinawa islands, Japan's NHK reported.

The international community is still struggling to reach agreement on how to respond to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test - of what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb - on January 6.

After Sunday's launch, South Korean and US defence officials announced they would begin formal talks on deploying a US missile defence system in South Korea.

The US says the highly advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system would be a deterrent necessitated by the North's advancing ballistic missile program.

But China and Russia fear it could trigger an arms race in a delicately balanced region.

Australia joins chorus of criticism

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon called the North's actions "deeply deplorable" and demanded it "halt its provocative actions and return to compliance with its international obligations".

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the rocket was a blatant breach of five UN resolutions, while the European Union lashed the launch as "yet another outright and grave violation" of North Korea's obligations.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop added that North Korea continued to pose a threat to world peace.

"The Australian Government joins with the international community in condemning North Korea's provocative, dangerous and destabilising behaviour," Ms Bishop said.

"Australia calls on the North Korean leader to focus on the plight of the long suffering people of North Korea."

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the launch as "absolutely unacceptable".

"To launch a missile after conducting a nuclear test goes against the UN resolution. We will respond resolutely, coordinating closely with the international community," he told reporters.

Japan had said it was ready to shoot down the rocket if it threatened the country, but did not take any action to do so.

North Korea's chief diplomatic ally China, which has been resisting the US push for tougher sanctions against Pyongyang, expressed "regret" about the launch.

"With regards to the DPRK's insistence on implementing a launch of missile technology in the face of international opposition, China expresses regret," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

The North has insisted its space program is purely scientific in nature, but the US and allies, including South Korea, have said its rocket launches were aimed at developing an inter-continental ballistic missile capable of striking the US mainland.

It had planned to launch the rocket later this month, but brought the date forward.



A satellite image of the North Korea rocket site at Sohae, taken on February 4. ( Airbus Defense & Space and 38 North )

Technology currently 'a theoretical threat': expert

Orbital rocket launches, experts say, are relatively straightforward compared to the challenge of mastering the re-entry technology required to deliver a payload the distance between North Korea and the US.

Aerospace engineer John Schilling, who has closely followed North Korea's missile program, said intercontinental ballistic missile warheads were different to satellites, because they needed to "come down as well as go up".

"North Korea has never demonstrated the ability to build a re-entry vehicle that can survive at even half the speed an ICBM would require," Dr Schilling said.

"If and when they do, what is presently a theoretical threat will become very real and alarming," he added.

North Korea is believed to be working on miniaturising a nuclear warhead to mount on a missile, but many experts say it is some time away from perfecting such technology.

It has shown off two versions of a ballistic missile resembling a type that could reach the US west coast, but there is no evidence the missiles have been tested.

Timeline: North Korea's missiles Late 1970s: Starts working on a version of the Soviet Scud-B (range 300 kilometres)

Late 1970s: Starts working on a version of the Soviet Scud-B (range 300 kilometres) Sept 1999: Declares moratorium on long-range missile tests amid improving ties with US

Sept 1999: Declares moratorium on long-range missile tests amid improving ties with US Mar 2005: North ends moratorium on long-range missile testing, blames Bush administration's "hostile" policy

Mar 2005: North ends moratorium on long-range missile testing, blames Bush administration's "hostile" policy Jul 2006: UN Security Council demands halt to all ballistic missile activity

Jul 2006: UN Security Council demands halt to all ballistic missile activity Apr 2009: North Korea launches long-range rocket which flies over Japan and lands in the Pacific, US allies see it as disguised weapons testing

Apr 2009: North Korea launches long-range rocket which flies over Japan and lands in the Pacific, US allies see it as disguised weapons testing May 2011: North Korea and Iran suspected of sharing ballistic missile technology

May 2011: North Korea and Iran suspected of sharing ballistic missile technology Dec 2012: North Korea launches multi-stage rocket and successfully places an Earth observational satellite in orbit.

Dec 2012: North Korea launches multi-stage rocket and successfully places an Earth observational satellite in orbit. Jan 6, 2016: North Korea conducts its fourth underground nuclear test, which it says was of a hydrogen bomb — a claim doubted by most experts

Jan 6, 2016: North Korea conducts its fourth underground nuclear test, which it says was of a hydrogen bomb — a claim doubted by most experts Feb 7, 2016: North Korea says it has placed another Earth observation satellite in orbit with its second successful space rocket launch

Reuters/AFP/ABC