U.N. Ambassador Rice: Korean missile launch no ‘goofy stunt’

The North Koreans’ missile launch was not a “goofy stunt,” United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice said Monday.

“It was something serious and we need to take it seriously,” Rice said this morning during an appearance on CBS, asserting that the missile launch was a clear provocation despite some evidence that it had been a failure. “It wasn’t a goofy stunt.”

Rice called the U.N. Security Council to be pass a binding resolution in order to force the Koreans to reenter six-party talks aimed at denuclearization.

“Whether through the security council or through other means, we think it’s important to send a strong message to North Korea that it can’t act with impunity, and that indeed, it needs to come back to the table, and we need to push forward in our shared efforts to achieve a Korean peninsula without nuclear weapons,” Rice said.