WASHINGTON — The United States will push for a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Korea for launching a rocket Wednesday, senior administration officials told CNN.

“We will go to New York with a full head of steam and work hard with our partners on the council to get a tough, swift reaction,” one official said.

Washington may push for sanctions similar to those imposed on Iran over its nuclear program, the officials said. The measures would target financial institutions and would designate specific members of the North Korean government for sanctions as well.

“There is a pretty strong commitment to go with a seriousness of purpose,” one official said.

It is unclear whether such tough measures would be approved by the Security Council. North Korean allies China and Russia, two of the council’s permanent members, could exercise their veto power.

The U.S. government has already been talking with China and Russia — as well as South Korea and Japan, the other partners in the ongoing six-party talks with North Korea — about potential consequences if Pyongyang ignored international warnings and launched its missile.

Even if the Security Council fails to pass sanctions, the United States and other nations could impose unilateral measures, as they have with Iran, the senior administration officials said.

Pyongyang has previously pressed ahead with rocket launches and nuclear tests despite international sanctions.

Wednesday’s launch was a breakthrough for the reclusive, nuclear-equipped state.

The long-range rocket successfully blasted off from a space center on the country’s west coast and delivered a satellite into its intended orbit, the North Korean regime said. The launch followed a botched attempt in April and came just days after Pyongyang suggested a planned launch could be delayed.

North Korea’s previous claims of successful launches have been dismissed by the United States and other countries, but this time it seemed to have pulled it off.

A U.S. official confirmed that the object is in orbit. U.S. officials were looking into whether it is an operating satellite, the official said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in Afghanistan, called the launch “clear provocation.”

“We warned them not to do it. We’ve been very concerned about their firing this missile in violation of every international standard and rule,” Panetta said, in an interview to air Wednesday on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

He added that one reason the United States is working to “rebalance” the Pacific “is to deal with the threat from North Korea. And we will. We’re prepared to do that and we’ll respond if we have to.”

Asked whether the launch indicates that North Korea could hit the United States if it chose to, Panetta responded that he is “very confident” the U.S. military could guard against such an attack. “Obviously the hope is that we never have to face that kind of threat, and that’s why we continue to warn them against this kind of provocation,” he added.

Iran, meanwhile, praised North Korea’s move Wednesday.

General Masoud Jazaeri, a senior Iranian military official, expressed happiness over the launch, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported.

“Experience has shown that independent countries, by self confidence and perseverance, can quickly reach the height of self sufficiency in science and technology. Hegemonic powers, such as the United States, are unable to stop the progress of such countries,” he said.

The sudden launch Wednesday ratcheted up tensions in East Asia.

It also undermined speculation that the young North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, might take steps to moderate his nation’s uncompromising approach to foreign relations.

“This is something that we have to worry about,” Philip Yun, who advised former President Bill Clinton on North Korean issues, said of the launch. He noted that it had taken the United States 24 attempts to successfully launch a similar kind of vehicle.

But North Korea still has a lot work of to do “if they’re actually going to mount a nuclear device or a weapon on a rocket,” said Yun, who is executive director of the Ploughshares Fund, a U.S.-based foundation that seeks to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

Many nations, such as the United States and South Korea, consider the rocket launch to be a cover for testing ballistic missile technology. Pyongyang has insisted its aim was to place a scientific satellite in space “for peaceful purposes.”

Countries around the world quickly condemned Pyongyang’s move on Wednesday, saying it breached U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The South Korean government said the launch was confrontational and a “threat to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the world.” Japan called it “intolerable.”

The United States described the launch as “a highly provocative act” that is “yet another example of North Korea’s pattern of irresponsible behavior.”

“The international community must work in a concerted fashion to send North Korea a clear message that its violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions have consequences,” said Tommy Vietor, a U.S. National Security Council spokesman.

China expressed regret that the launch had taken place, noting “concerns among the international community.”

“We hope relevant parties stay calm in order to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Hong Lei, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a news conference.

Several governments criticized Pyongyang’s decision to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on its rocket program rather than on assisting its poor, malnourished population.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he deplored the fact that North Korea “has chosen to prioritize this launch over improving the livelihood of its people.”

The North’s failed launch attempt in April ended a deal for the United States to provide thousands of tons of food aid to the country.

Analysts have suggested a multitude of reasons for North Korea’s decision to carry out the launch this month. It is the first time it has attempted two launches in the same year, and the only time it has fired such a rocket in the winter months.

“I think this is very important to Kim Jong Un to build political legitimacy and bolster the spirits of his people,” said James Schoff, a North Korea specialist with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “He is doing this despite the fact that he knows he is going to come into a lot of criticism in the region for it.”

The launch has taken place during a period of power consolidation for Kim in which he has purged senior military officers in an apparent effort to stamp his authority on the regime’s leadership.

“If Kim Jong Un pulls off a successful long-range missile test, it’s a very important signal saying that ‘Yes, I, Kim Jong Un, have replaced the powerful generals,'” said John Park, a Stanton junior faculty fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It shows that ‘I have found the right balance and I am now in charge.'”

The launch also ties in with important dates for the regime’s ruling dynasty.

Pyongyang had said this rocket launch would be “true to the behests” of Kim Jong Il, the late North Korean leader and father of Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Il died on December 17 last year, so the rocket launch took place just days before tearful mourners are expected to gather for the first anniversary of his death.

Experts had also speculated that Pyongyang wanted this launch to happen before the end of 2012, the year that marks the centenary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and grandfather of Kim Jong Un.

Another factor may also be at play: The launch took place ahead of national elections in Japan on Sunday and in South Korea on December 19. North Korea is a crucial foreign policy issue in both of those countries.

The rocket took off Wednesday morning and flew south over the Japanese island of Okinawa. There were conflicting reports about how many parts fell into the sea.

South Korea is still trying to determine if the object the rocket put in orbit “is going to function properly,” said Kim Min-seok, a Defense Ministry spokesman.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said the satellite, named Kwangmyongsong-3, was “fitted with survey and communications devices essential for the observation of the earth.”

A launch had seemed unlikely to take place so soon after North Korea announced Monday that it was extending the rocket’s launch window into late December, citing technical issues in an engine.

Previous launch attempts by the North in 1998, 2006, 2009 and April this year failed to achieve their stated goal of putting a satellite into orbit and provoked international condemnation.

The rockets launched in 1998 and 2009 flew for hundreds of kilometers but didn’t succeed in deploying satellites, other countries and experts said at the time. North Korea nonetheless insisted that both satellites did reach orbit, with KCNA reporting that they were transmitting “immortal revolutionary” songs back to earth.

The 2006 launch failed soon after takeoff and wasn’t reported by state media.

In April, the North Korean regime invited members of the international news media, including CNN, into the country to observe the preparations for its planned launch. But the strategy backfired when the rocket broke apart shortly after blasting off. On that occasion, state media took the unusual step of admitting the launch’s failure.

— CNN’s Elise Labott reported from Washington; CNN’s Jethro Mullen reported from Hong Kong. CNN’s K.J. Kwon and Paula Hancocks in Seoul, Paul Armstrong in Hong Kong, Erin Burnett in Afghanistan, Junko Ogura in Tokyo, Barbara Starr, Jamie Crawford, Chris Lawrence, and Jessica Yellin in Washington, and Josh Levs in Atlanta contributed to this report. Journalist Connie Young in Beijing also contributed.