MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concern on Tuesday over North Korea's recent rocket launch, but cautioned against taking action until all the facts are established.

North Korea launched a multistage rocket that it said was carrying a communications satellite at 11:30 a.m. (02:30 a.m. GMT) on Sunday, defying pressure from the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries, which suspect the launch was a cover for the test of a Taepodong-2 long-range missile.

"We would like to get to the bottom of the problem and use the existing mechanisms, such as the UN Security Council, to send a signal about our concern, but at the same time urge the parties involved to honor the existing agreements," he said.

He added that Russia was also calling for the earliest possible resumption of six-nation negotiations on North Korea's nuclear program.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said North Korea has the right to pursue peaceful space-related activities. The ministry urged the international community to exercise restraint on the issue, to maintain stability in the region.

The 15-member Security Council convened for an emergency meeting late on Sunday at Japan's request, to discuss sanctions against Pyongyang over the rocket launch, but strong opposition from Russia and China prevented the adoption of even a preliminary statement of condemnation.

North Korea claimed the rocket, which was launched over Japan, successfully delivered a communications satellite into orbit, but the U.S. and South Korean militaries said all three stages fell into the ocean and that "no object entered orbit."

The U.S. and other countries argued for sanctions against Pyongyang, saying that the launch violated Security Council Resolution 1718, which was passed after North Korea's 2006 nuclear test, but Russia and China called for restraint on the grounds that the resolution does not prohibit the launch of satellites.