(Reuters) - North Korea's much hyped long-range rocket launch on Friday ended in apparent failure, South Korean officials said, dealing a blow to the prestige of the reclusive and impoverished state that defied international pressure to push ahead with the plan.
North Korea said it wanted the Unha-3 rocket to put a weather satellite into orbit, although critics believed it was designed to enhance the capacity of North Korea to design a ballistic missile deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the continental United States.
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Seoul told journalists that the rocket had broken up and crashed into the sea a few minutes after launch.
Officials from Japan confirmed the mission had failed, while ABC News cited U.S. officials saying it had failed, although there was no immediate indication of where it fell.
The rocket's flight was set to take it over a sea separating the Korean peninsula, with an eventual launch of a third stage of the rocket in seas near the Philippines that would have put the satellite into orbit.
This was North Korea's second consecutive failure to get a satellite into orbit, although it claimed success with a 2009 launch and there was no comment on the launch from North Korea's official media.
The Unha-3 rocket took off from a new launch site on the west coast of North Korea, near the Chinese border.
The launch had been timed to coincide with the 100th birthday celebrations of the isolated and impoverished state's founder, Kim Il-sung, and came after a food aid deal with the United States had hinted at an easing of tensions on the world's most militarized border.
17 comments:
Well I guess it was a good thing that the rocket failed if it was going to be capable of hitting the United States with nucear missiles. I dont think that the only reason for the rocket was to put a weather satellite into orbit. I think that the Koreans had something else in mind for the rocket.
Well I guess it was a good thing that the rocket failed if it was going to be capable of hitting the United States with nucear missiles. I dont think that the only reason for the rocket was to put a weather satellite into orbit. I think that the Koreans had something else in mind for the rocket
North Korea's failure to launch its long range rocket reflects the country's inability to move away from the dictatorship of the Kim Il-sung dynasty toward a better future. The stubborn militancy of the North Korean government is willing to place foreign aid at risk despite internal food shortages. The rocket's failure is almost symbolic of the failure of the North Korean government to not only compete on the international level technologically, but also its inability to simply provide consumer comforts for its citizens.
North Korea's failure to launch its long range rocket reflects the country's inability to move away from the dictatorship of the Kim Il-sung dynasty toward a better future. The stubborn militancy of the North Korean government is willing to place foreign aid at risk despite internal food shortages. The rocket's failure is almost symbolic of the failure of the North Korean government to not only compete on the international level technologically, but also its inability to simply provide consumer comforts for its citizens.
North Korea's failure to launch its long range rocket reflects the country's inability to move away from the dictatorship of the Kim Il-sung dynasty toward a better future. The stubborn militancy of the North Korean government is willing to place foreign aid at risk despite internal food shortages. The rocket's failure is almost symbolic of the failure of the North Korean government to not only compete on the international level technologically, but also its inability to simply provide consumer comforts for its citizens.
The North Korean missile program has faced numerous failures. If they keep up their attempts at a successful missile launch, they will have to expect the US to attempt to shut down their missile program through the UN. The possibility of North Korea having missiles that can reach US soil will not be received well by the US, no matter what the circumstances. Even though North Korea's last two attempts have failed, the threat of them having long tangent missiles is daunting.
People are paranoid. We think everything Communists do is to hurt us. I mean this kind of thinking caused massive problems in the 1950s when everyone was saying their neighbor worked for the USSR, and yes, some were, but not nearly as many as were claimed by others to be. Yes, North Korea is probably working on something to launch a missile, but we have better missiles and can stop theirs in its tracks, so why are we worrying? They have failed twice in a row and if they had succeeded in 2009 like they say they did, why would they be trying to put up the same satellite that they supposedly launched in 2009?
In my opinion, close eyes need to be kept on North Korea. Even if they say they're only sending satellites for various reasons, who knows what they COULD be doing. As the article states, they could very well be creating a weapon to travel from North Korea to the United States, under our own noses.
Terms with North Korea have never been stable, and I don't think we should fully trust them yet, because they DO have the power to launch nuclear weapons.
I think that with the failure of this rocket launch, its only going to make the Koreans push harder to get another one up to just get it done. We don't really know what its for but if they are testing it to see if they have the capacity to design a ballistic missile to hit the united states with expect it them to relaunch one very soon.
The failure of their rocket is humorous to some Americans yet makes others fearful. Though critics believe this was a beginning of North Korean attempts to eventually send nuclear war heads to the United States i am not overcome with fear of a Nuclear war in the future. Not only have their attempts failed but they are decades behind our own space program. If North korea did eventually create a rocket with the capabilities of delivering a nuclear warhead to america, i would be sure that by that time there would be a defense to their juvenile attempts. I also find it humorous because the launching of this rocket was to coincide with the 100th birth day of kim-something-something and kind of give the country a sense of unity and hope of being a powerful nation under their new leader. If i was korean i would be hanging my head pretty low right now.
Well South Korea is pulling out it's big guns and falling flat on it's face. Personally I think they should give up. This is their second failed attempt. Also I really don't want them putting satellites on to space so they can monitor other things.
I don't know if it is a weather satellite or a weapon. But I wonder why they failed to launch it. It's probably not a weapon, because if it was a weapon, people would have found out and get very mad. Maybe they need new scientists to help them get the launch right.
North Korea should just stop while they're behind. Obviously their "weather" satellite shouldn't be put into orbit due to the multiple failures experienced. And at the same time, it's really sad that they haven't been able to successfully launch a satellite into orbit since 2009, I mean come on! Also I wonder how much the food aid deal hinted because North Korea obviously didn't get it.
It is certainly all a ruse. While claiming to have failed, the North Koreans must certainly have meant the rocket to land in the sea so that little nanobots programmed to steal the American dream away from the American people can contaminate the ocean and our shorelines and eventually our homelands. This is definitely the case. It's so obvious because it's not obvious. The North Koreans couldn't fail; they are just brilliant and shameless actors.
OR this could be a sign that the only rocket scientists worthy of such a feat are in the dying NASA program.
OR this could simply be one of the first of many breakdowns of the North Koreans' facade of invincibility and We-Can-Do-Anything attitude.
This kind of mishap is very damaging for a North Korea which is already facing many problems of legitimacy. With the transition of power comes problems of its own; no need to mention that a failed missile can only worsen the state of affairs. If North Korea wishes to assert itself as a world power, it must first develop the economy so that out had the required assets. Its nuclear technology is over sixty years out of date as it of just now developing uranium nuclear weapons. North Korea is far too focused on engineering weapons to intimidate other countries. first, it should enter the 20th century before attempting to join the world as a threat to nuclear peace.
I think this is somewhat a warning sign, when you think about it. I think it's supposed to tell us about the success of North Korea's new leader. In addition, the launch of their weapon is probably hinting at their internal motives, possibly towards the United States.
This news should bring relief to Americans everywhere because once again North Korea will not be able to produce weapons of mass destruction. Although it is still frightening they will still keep trying to make them this just means that we wont have to worry about it for another year that's if North Korea doesn't collapse before then especially after they just lost their original "visionary" leader.At least i will rest easier knowing that they have failed for the umpteenth time.
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