The United States is tracking a North Korean long-range rocket, but it does not pose a threat to the U.S. or its allies, a Defense Department official said Saturday.

"We are tracking it. It does not pose a danger to the U.S. or allies. We will provide an update soon," the Pentagon official told Yonhap News Agency by phone on the condition of anonymity.

The North fired the rocket from its northwest Dongchang-ri launch site at 9:30 a.m. (Korean time), one month after its fourth nuclear test, sending the already-high tensions on the Korean Peninsula soaring higher.

The launch, which is banned under U.N. resolutions, came as the U.N. Security Council has been working on a new resolution imposing sanctions on Pyongyang for the nuclear test and is sure to spark stronger calls to punish the communist nation.(Yonhap)