The U.S. government emphasized Saturday that North Korea's rocket launch would be a "highly provocative" act and warned of "next steps" if Pyongyang presses ahead with it.

"A North Korean 'satellite' launch would be a highly provocative act that threatens peace and security in the region," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

The response came hours after the communist nation's announcement of a plan to launch a rocket carrying what it claims to be a "working satellite" between Dec. 10 and 22.

The U.S. and its allies view it as a test for an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM). The North conducted two rocket launches in 2006 and 2009, followed shortly after by nuclear tests, and another launch in April of this year.

Nuland said another would directly violate U.N. Security Council resolutions that prohibit Pyongyang from any launch using ballistic missile technology.

The council's presidential statement, adopted after the North's April 16 long-range rocket launch, also "expressed its determination to take action accordingly in the event of a further launch," noted Nuland.

"The United States is consulting closely with its six-party and other key allies and partners on next steps," she said, referring to now-suspended talks on North Korea's nuclear program that also involve South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.

"Devoting scarce resources to the development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles will only further isolate and impoverish North Korea," Nuland said. "The path to security for North Korea lies in investing in its people and abiding by its commitments and international obligations."

Japan was quick to announce it will postpone director-general-level talks with North Korea scheduled to be held in Beijing next week for discussions on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang.

 "I have determined it will be difficult to hold the meeting from a comprehensive standpoint, and I informed the other party of my postponement decision" through a diplomatic channel, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was quoted as telling reporters in Tokyo. (Yonhap News)