Even though North Korea said the satellite was in orbit transmitting data, the BBC says other countries are saying...

"North Korea failed in its attempt to get a satellite into space after a rocket launch... Two stages of the rocket and its payload landed in the Pacific Ocean..."

Channel News Asia reported the launch was a violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718:

"The United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Britain condemned a North Korean rocket launch, with US President Barack Obama calling it a "provocative" act amounting to an illegal long-range missile test."

China Daily had reaction from the Chinese Foreign Ministry:

"We hope relevant parties keep calm... properly handle this issue, and work together to safeguard peace and stability of the region."

CNN found some to be supportive:

"A secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union blasted the U.S. on Tuesday for its "outrageous interference in the internal affairs" of North Korea... Trade organizations in the Czech Republic also hailed the projected launch."

The Korea Herald brought this perspective from South Korea:

"It is not only a provocative act that would negatively impact regional and global security, but it also deplorable that the North would choose to spend money it could have used to counter its chronic food shortage on the rocket launch..."

NHK looked at perspectives from Japan - and the fact that "Japan's anti-ballistic missile system did not attempt to intercept the projectile."

Russia Today headlined it as a "demonstration of independence":

"For North Korea, launching a rocket is an important stage on the way to becoming a country which possesses advanced technologies, says Aleksandr Vorontsov, head of the Korean department at the Russian Academy of Sciences."