July 6 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea was condemned by the United Nations Security Council after the government in Pyongyang launched several missiles earlier this month in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after a nuclear test.

The council appealed to all countries in the region to refrain from “any action” that could escalate tensions, Ruhakana Rugunda, the Ugandan ambassador who serves as the council’s acting president, told reporters after a special meeting of the council today in New York.

“I think the DPRK is getting the message,” said Japan’s ambassador, Yukio Takasu, referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “We hope they will stop launching missiles eventually.”

North Korea fired four short- or medium-range missiles on July 2 and seven on July 4. The UN had demanded June 12 that the country halt all efforts to develop nuclear missiles and imposed sanctions on North Korean weapons shipments, authorizing member states to stop cargo ships at sea suspected of carrying weapons to or from the isolated communist country.

Rugunda said the council expressed its “grave concern” at the missile launches.

A North Korean cargo ship reportedly carrying a cargo that violated the sanctions was forced yesterday to return to port, the U.S. Navy said today, in the first test of the sanctions.

The Aegis-class destroyer USS John S. McCain started shadowing the Kang Nam I soon after it left North Korea. The nation, led by Kim Jong Il, has said it will consider any attempts to board its ships as “a declaration of war.”

‘Very Clear Case’

Takasu said the turning back of the North Korean ship was “a very visible and very clear case” of how the UN can force North Korea to change its policies. He said it was too early to talk of a coordinated blockade of North Korea.

The 2,000-ton vessel, which left the North Korean port of Nampo on June 17, was possibly headed for Myanmar via Singapore, South Korea’s YTN cable news channel reported last month. The vessel will likely reach North Korea today, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae Jae told reporters in Seoul.

The June UN resolution “closed down a lot of options that were available” to the North Koreans, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead told reporters in Seoul today. He declined to comment on the cargo on board the Kang Nam, citing “intelligence matters.”

South Korea’s Yonhap News reported yesterday that the communist nation may have fired variants of the Scud-C or the Rodong missile, which is capable of reaching Japan, on July 4. South Korea’s Defense Ministry is analyzing data from the tests to determine what kind of missiles were fired, ministry spokesman Won said today.

“On the missile launches, I think they were unhelpful and clearly counter to the desires of the international community for a peaceful and stable region,” Roughead said today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Peter S. Green at the United Nations at psgreen@bloomberg.net; Heejin Koo in Seoul at hjkoo@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 6, 2009 19:37 EDT