April 5 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. will seek tougher United Nations sanctions on North Korea when the Security Council holds an emergency meeting today in response to its launch of a rocket, Susan Rice, U.S. envoy to the UN, said.

Rice, speaking on the ABC’s “This Week” program, said the U.S. would press to “toughen existing regimes and add” to previous sanctions. Rice said the U.S. will need support in the Security Council from China and Russia, which have resisted imposition of UN sanctions on North Korea.

“It’s a violation and it merits a strong” response, Rice said of the launch. The U.S. will ask for the “most appropriate and strong response we can possibly get,” Rice said, without specifying what additional sanctions might be sought.

The North Koreans said the rocket was carrying a satellite. The U.S. said the payload didn’t reach orbit and it, along with the final rocket stages, landed in the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. is trying to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to return to six-nation talks aimed at eliminating his nation’s nuclear weapons program. The U.S. Japan and South Korea have accused the reclusive country of developing long-range missile technology to carry a nuclear device.

The Security Council voted 15 to 0 on Oct. 14, 2006, to adopt a resolution that punished North Korea for its nuclear- bomb test five days earlier. That measure demanded that North Korea cease all missile-related activities and not launch any rockets.

The resolution also barred the sale or transfer of missiles, warships, tanks, attack helicopters and combat aircraft, as well as missile- and nuclear-related goods to the North Korean government. It called for UN member nations to conduct “inspection of cargo” going to or from North Korea.

The Security Council is scheduled to hold a closed meeting at 3 p.m. local time in New York.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 5, 2009 11:32 EDT