The United States late Saturday pledged to take action after North Korea fired a rocket, calling it a "provocative act" that threatened security in Asia. The missile launch is an early test for US President Barack Obama, who had joined other world leaders in urging the hard-line communist state drop plans to test a missile. "Certainly it threatens the whole safely and security of that region," State Department spokesman Fred Lash said as he confirmed the launch late Saturday Washington time. "We look on this as a provocative act and certainly would -- from the United States -- take appropriate steps to let North Korea know that it can't threaten the safety and security of other countries with impunity and acts like these," Lash said. He said that the test violated UN Security Council Resolution 1718, which was adopted after Pyongyang carried out a nuclear test in 2006. That resolution had imposed sanctions on military goods and luxury products to North Korea and warned it not to carry out any further nuclear of ballistic missile tests.