Russia, China, India Call for 'Restraint' over N.Korea

Russia, China and India on Friday jointly called all parties in the standoff over North Korea to show restraint after the reclusive state's failed rocket launch sparked global concern.

"We are convinced that the reaction to these challenges needs to be exclusively diplomatic and political," Lavrov said alongside his Chinese and Indian counterparts after a meeting in Moscow.

"We call on all parties to show maximum responsibility and restraint and to make efforts for a renewal of six party talks."

The defiant launch drew condemnation from world leaders who described it as a "provocative" act threatening regional security, despite Pyongyang insisting it was intended to put a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes.

Some four hours after the rocket exploded over the Yellow Sea, the North admitted the satellite had failed to enter orbit, and that "scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure".

The United States and its allies slammed the exercise as a disguised ballistic missile test that contravened United Nations resolutions triggered by Pyongyang's two nuclear tests.

The European Union also joined governments in South Korea and Japan in condemning Friday's move as a provocation that undermined peace and security in the volatile Korean peninsula and the wider region.