The payload of the rocket remains unclear. North Korea has said the rocket was to carry a satellite into space, but the United States, South Korea and other nations fear it could be a missile with a warhead attached.
A senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed that the rocked did clear Japan.
The rocket -- launched at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET Saturday) -- was a "provocative act in violation" of U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea's weapons program, said Fred Lash, a State Department spokesman, told reporters
Japan has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Council