But this story seems slightly more credible, since the rocket is reported to have landed in the Pacific rather than reaching orbit. According to The Los Angeles Times:
North Korea Said to Launch Rocket- - - - - - - - -
Ending several days of high alert in East Asia, the rocket reportedly crosses Japanese air space before landing in the Pacific. Japan had threatened to shoot it down.
Reporting from Seoul -- North Korea launched what was believed to be a multi-stage rocket on Sunday, ending weeks of speculation about the regime’s efforts to expand its ability to deliver nuclear weapons.
The North Korean news agency announced that a rocket was launched about 11:30 a.m. The U.S. State Department, the South Korean president’s office and Japanese media reports confirmed the launch.
The rocket reportedly crossed Japanese air space before plunging into the Pacific Ocean, according to press reports from Japan. Japanese officials apparently did not attempt to shoot down the rocket, as they had threatened to do.
North Korea had said it planned to put a communications satellite into space. But many analysts predicted that the launch would actually be a test of the regime’s ability to use the three-stage Taepodong 2 to deliver a warhead.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted government officials in Seoul as saying that the rocket carried a satellite. That report was not immediately confirmed.
The rocket is estimated to have a range of more than 4,000 miles. Some analysts say that with a light payload, it could reach the western U.S.
On Sunday morning, the rogue state had appeared to activate its rocket tracking radar system just minutes before the start of the 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. window given for the launch, according to a South Korean news agency.
4 comments:
We (and that includes the Japanese) will live to regret not shooting that bastard down.
There's no excuse for such passivity. And Kin Jong Il knows it.
It's a big win for the NK Coms.
More crap.
President 0bama primised "massive retaliation" by holding his breath until he turns blue and his ears stick out even further.
Gotta go with joeblough here. Missile launches by rogue regimes such as North Korea and Iran should all be treated as live-fire exercises for the purpose of real time tests that use our air and maritime-based laser weapons.
Pretending that any of these global security threats currently masquerading as legitimate nations possess even a shred of sovereign rights makes a total farce out of the lives spent securing liberty in the free world.
Turning our backs while these terrorist governments continue to develop Weapons of Mass Destruction has become a form of malign neglect. There is nothing benign about an abject failure to note genuine threats that loom on the near-term horizon.
Those who survive eventual attacks upon the West that use such illicit technology have every right to seek and impose the death penalty upon their spineless leaders.
This wouldn't be such an issue if we hadn't given them permission to do so. Robert Gates got on Fox News and said that we weren't prepared to do anything about it if the fired a missile.
http://tinyurl.com/dzmmrb
This just goes to show what unconditional talks will accomplish.
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