The United Nations Security Council has failed to agree on a concerted response to North Korea's attempt to launch what it calls a military reconnaissance satellite.

The council held an emergency meeting on Friday at the request of Japan, the United States and other countries.

Multiple participants condemned Pyongyang for Wednesday's launch. They said the use of ballistic missile technology is a serious violation of Security Council resolutions.

Japan's UN ambassador Ishikane Kimihiro said the launch was a violation regardless of whether it carried a military satellite or was successful or not.

Robert Wood, a diplomat from the US mission to the UN, said permanent council members China and Russia are defending North Korea, which has repeatedly conducted missile launches.

He said Russia and China "argue that a Council product or even holding a Council meeting are provocative actions."

China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, blamed the US for raising military tensions around the Korean Peninsula. He said the US has ignored the concerns of other countries and fully served its own geopolitical interests.

And Russia's deputy permanent representative to the UN Anna Evstigneeva criticized the US and South Korea for holding joint live-fire drills and destabilizing the region.