subject: North Korea Rocket Launch Fails [print this page] After weeks of anticipation whether or not Pyongyang will cancel the planned long-range rocket launch, the international community finally witnessed the one of the failures of North Korea in its missile program as the rocket disintegrated in the atmosphere.
The rocket flew for about a minute before it broke apart in the air, according to experts. The debris fell into the ocean. Japanese authorities have not yet find any negative impact about the launch so far. The international community though was not in favor of North Korea's long-range missile plans and especially the said launch, which can produce negative ramifications.
Millions are starving in North Korea at the moment but the current government pushes through with its missile program nevertheless. The South Korean government condemned the lauch and reiterated the fact about food shortage in North Korea as the primary issue that should have been addressed.
The debris, as qouted from a South Korean defense ministry official, fell about 190 to 210 kilometers off the coast of Gunsan, near the Yellow Sea.
The U.N. Security Council will meet on April 13 about the launch according to one US official. The said meeting was planned ahead.
Diplomats at the United Nations had warned North Korea that it could face further isolation if the launch would go ahead.
The launching of the rocket was one of the symbolic acts of the ascension of Kim Jong Un to power. The failure is considered to be embarrasing for him and his government.
Countries who are against the launch included the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other countries in the region. They view the launch as a cover for a ballistic missile test. The international community urged the rogue communist state to cancel the launch to no avail. Pyongyang insisted the test was for peaceful purposes only.
Experts also believe North Korea will be planning a new nuclear test in the area it previously used to stage atomic blasts. A pattern by North Korea puts a missile test first followed months later by nuclear tests.
The last rocket launch conducted by North Korea was described as putting satellites into orbit followed by nuclear tests.
Amidst the ongoing condemnation by other countries on the launch, China, the only leading ally of Pyongyang, asked the international community to try to "defuse" the situation rather than inflame it.
The launch also happens at the time when the North Korean state is preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the founder and ruler of North Korea for 40 years.
The United States, in particular, was the most ardent opponent of North Korea's ambition to have a working missile program. The US believes the secretive state was trying to test a ballistic missile technology that would allow its missiles to carry a warhead which can reach the US mainland.
The launch was watched by the US, Japan, and SOuth Korea which covered the whole Korean peninsula with al kinds of surveillance and tracking equipment to track the rocket while in flight.
The US equipped one of its Air Force planes with special equipment to complement early warning satellite imagery. A giant XBand radar sitting on a platform for missile defense shield was deployed from its base in Hawaii. Aegis ships with excellent anti-missile capability were also deployed in the region to monitor the launch.
The news that the rocket failed during its third stage brought relief to the international community but at the same time renewed the perennial threat that North Korea seems to relish sharing with the world.
