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By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

The White House has indicated that it still believes that North Korea does not have missile technology capable of threatening the continental US, despite the North’s successful launch of a long-range rocket.

At a press conference held on Dec. 13, White House spokesperson Jay Carney was asked whether the US government still held to the view that North Korean missile technology was not capable of reaching the US mainland.

“It’s certainly still the view that is the case,” he said in response, though he added that North Korea and Iran are among the reasons that US President Barack Obama is calling for development of missile defense. “We're pursuing this issue from a variety of fronts because we consider it to be very serious.”

When asked about the level of response to North Korea and Iran, Carney said, "They are certainly at different stages in the developments of their prohibitive programs” and "there are in some ways different issues at stake." However, he added that "the overall principle that Iran ought to forsake its nuclear weapons program, abide by its international obligations and...re-enter the international community...applies to North Korea."

Regarding the role that China should play in sanctions against North Korea, Carney said, "[T]he Chinese, in our view, have made clear both prior to this launch and in the aftermath of the launch their opposition to it. And that, we believe, is a positive thing." He also said that there would be consequences for the North as a result of the missile launch.

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