North Korea successfully launches long-range rocket

A man watches a TV screen broadcasting news on North Korea's rocket launch, at a railway station in Seoul on December 12, 2012. / Getty Images

Updated 11:47 p.m. ET

SEOUL, South KoreaNorth Korea fired a long-range rocket Wednesday morning in its second launch under its new leader, defying warnings from the U.N. and Washington only days before South Korean presidential elections.

North Korea declared the launch of a rocket and satellite a success, and state television broadcasted a brief report confirming as much on Wednesday.

South Korean and Japanese officials confirmed that liftoff took place Wednesday morning. Each nation had been urging North Korea to refrain from a launch widely seen as a cover for a test of banned ballistic missile technology.

In a written statement, North American Aerospace Defense Command officials "acknowledged today that U.S. missile warning systems detected and tracked the launch of a North Korean missile at 7:49 p.m. EST...Initial indications are that the missile deployed an object that appeared to achieve orbit. At no time was the missile or the resultant debris a threat to North America."

The White House condemned the launch calling it "a highly provocative act," that was both a threat to regional security and a violation of U.N. resolutions.

"North Korea is only further isolating itself by engaging in such provocative acts," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in the statement. "Devoting scarce resources to the development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons has not brought it security and acceptance by the international community--and never will."

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a nationally televised news conference that a South Korean Aegis-equipped destroyer deployed in the Yellow Sea detected the launch but South Korea still didn't know the launch was successful. North Korea had indicated technical problems with the rocket earlier and had extended its launch window to Dec. 29.

Japan said one part of the rocket fell into waters west of the Korean Peninsula and another part fell in the sea east of the Philippines. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak planned an emergency national security council meeting Wednesday, and Japan protested the rocket launch.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power after his father Kim Jong Il died on Dec. 17 last year, and the launch also comes about a month before President Barack Obama is inaugurated for his second term.

The North says the Unha rocket was meant to put a satellite in orbit. A similar launch in April broke apart shortly after liftoff, and the condemnation that attempt received is likely to be repeated. Washington sees the launch as a cover for a test of technology for missiles that could be used to strike the United States.

Rocket tests are seen as crucial to advancing North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions. North Korea is thought to have only a handful of rudimentary nuclear bombs. But Pyongyang is not yet believed capable of building warheads small enough to mount on a missile that could threaten the United States.

North Korea has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range rocket. Experts say that ballistic missiles and rockets in satellite launches share similar bodies, engines and other technology. This is the fifth attempt at a long-range launch since 1998, when Pyongyang sent a rocket hurtling over Japan. Previous launches of three-stage rockets weren't considered successful.

Washington sees North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles as a threat to world security and to its Asian allies, Japan and South Korea.

North Korea under new leader Kim has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy.

The launches Wednesday and in April came from a site on the west coast, in the village of Tongchang-ri, about 35 miles from the Chinese border city of Dandong, across the Yalu River from North Korea. The site is 45 miles from the North's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, and is said to have better roads and facilities than previous sites and to allow a southerly flight path meant to keep the rocket from flying over other countries.

Tensions are high between the rival Koreas. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, as the 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, and Washington stations nearly 30,000 troops in South Korea as a buttress against any North Korean aggression. Tens of thousands more are in nearby Japan.

This year is the centennial of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong Un. According to North Korean propaganda, 2012 is meant to put the North on a path toward a "strong, prosperous and great nation."

The launch also follows South Korea's recent cancellation, because of technical problems, of an attempt to launch its first satellite from its own territory. Two previous attempts in 2009 and 2010 failed.

International condemnation is likely to follow quickly.

The U.N. Security Council has imposed two rounds of sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear tests, and a 2009 resolution orders the North not to conduct any launch using ballistic missile technology.

The council condemned a failed North Korean launch in April and ordered seizure of assets of three North Korean state companies linked to financing, exporting and procuring weapons and missile technology.

Under Security Council resolutions, nations are also barred from buying or selling weapons with North Korea, a key source of revenue for its authoritarian government.

North Korea has capable short- and medium-range missiles, but long-range launches in 1998, 2006, 2009 and in April of this year ended in failure. North Korea is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen bombs, according to U.S. experts. In 2010 it revealed a uranium enrichment program that could provide a second source of material for nuclear weapons.

Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for aid fell apart in early 2009.

A February deal for the United States to provide 240,000 metric tons of food aid in exchange for a freeze in nuclear and missile activities collapsed after the North's April launch.

North Korea said it chose a safe flight path so debris won't endanger neighboring countries. But there are still concerns over falling debris, and Japan's defense minister issued an order to missile units to prepare to intercept the rocket if it or its fragments threaten to hit Japan. Government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said Wednesday that no debris hit Japanese territory.

The first stage of the rocket was expected to fall in the Yellow Sea and the second stage in waters east of the Philippines, according to South Korea. Fujimura described two confirmed debris sites in those general areas after the launch.North Korea said it chose a safe flight path so debris won't endanger neighboring countries. But there are still concerns over falling debris, and Japan's defense minister issued an order to missile units to prepare to intercept the rocket if it or its fragments threaten to hit Japan. Government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said Wednesday that no debris hit Japanese territory.

The first stage of the rocket was expected to fall in the Yellow Sea and the second stage in waters east of the Philippines, according to South Korea. Fujimura described two confirmed debris sites in those general areas after the launch.

[holdonplease]

I have been reading about North Korea's efforts over many years, and discussing the matter with others that have resided near North Korea at some point in their lives. Thus, I find the article interesting. However, I do find the insults in the comment section appalling. We have freedom of speech in this country, and if others choose to comment, they certainly can. Hateful statements regarding Americans are not on point nor are flippant insults regarding others' ability to comment. Might I suggest that we stick to the issues, concerns, and topics indicated or implicated by the article above.

[holdonplease]

I have been reading about North Korea's efforts over many years, and discussing the matter with others that have resided near North Korea at some point in their lives. Thus, I find the article interesting. However, I do find the insults in the comment section appalling. We have freedom of speech in this country, and if others choose to comment, they certainly can. Hateful statements regarding Americans are not on point nor are flippant insults regarding others' ability to comment. Might I suggest that we stick to the issues, concerns, and topics indicated or implicated by the article above.

[SL-Mania]

NORAD says, "Initial indications are that missille deplyoed an object that appeared to achieve orbit." What means? What is an object? Did NK succeed in launching the satellite?

[ksmit2]

Do you really think NK is capable of developing a missile like that considering it's dismal track record. My money would bet it's a "Peoples Republic" from their uncle next door. They get a hoot out of seeing everyone in the world go bananas every time the Pyong Yang cowboys launch anything.

[HM8432]

NK launched the world's largest Estes rocket. Congrats, I guess. It seems that Kim Jong Un might not be a complete whack-job loser like his father, after all...

[signseeker1717]

The MILITARY is the true power in North Korea. In many ways, loyalty to the Kim dynasty may be in gesture only. The Military is North Korea's the largest employer, largest consumer, runs the nuclear program, and does pretty much what they want. It's very possible the young, inexperienced Kim Jong Un works for THEM, NOT the other way around.

[Ulgnud]

Nobody owns space. N/K has just as much right to use it for peaceful purposes as anyone else. Key word, "Peaceful".

[mav547166]

Right over Okinawa, Japan site of one of the Largest Marine base in the Pacific. I guess that Japan only counts Okinawa as part of Japan when it is convenient, but not worth defending contrary to the obviously wobbly threats they were making to the DPRK earlier this week.

[vasilenkoalex93]

Lol NK still sucks, their little missile will get shot down in seconds.

[mav547166]

Right over Okinawa, Japan site of one of the Largest Marine base in the Pacific. I guess that Japan only counts Okinawa as part of Japan when it is convenient, but not worth defending contrary to the obviously wobbly threats they were making to the DPRK earlier this week.

[Amaga_Luta]

This is definitely a Gangnam Style Launch. Our worry is that we are the closest US insular area in the Pacific...Saipan is just a flight away...home of at least 25K US citizens