North Korea's "Bright Star-3" rocket, prior to explosion.
The purpose of North Korea’s missile launch was unclear. Was it a show of force from the new Dear Leader? Was it a desire to develop a space program? Was it a simple threat towards South Korea? No matter what you might feel the purpose of North Korea’s rocket test might have been, there’s only one way to describe its reality: failure. North Korea’s rocket disintegrated about 90 seconds after takeoff, scattering debris across the sea between North Korea and China.
So much for making Friday a big celebration. Apparently, the rocket made it through its first stage, but blew up in the beginning of the second of three stages. The rocket made it about 75 miles away from Tongchang-ri, on North Korea’s west coast, before splashing down in pieces off the coast of Kunsan, South Korea. Looks like those attempts to develop an ICBM to pay debts with something other than ginseng aren’t going to work. At least, not yet.
“Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, North Korea’s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments,” read a prepared statement released by the White House. “North Korea is only further isolating itself by engaging in provocative acts, and is wasting its money on weapons and propaganda displays while the North Korean people go hungry.”
North Korea has been trying to launch an “observation satellite” for awhile. Looks like the so-called Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 (Korean for Lode Star or Bright Star) won’t be hitting space any time soon.
Tags: north korea, north korea rocket, north korean rocket breaks up after launch, north korean rocket fails, rocked breaks up after launch, pyongyang, white house, north korean icbm fails, intercontinental ballistic missile, missile test blows up, north korean missile test fails, space, observation satellite, north korean space program, bright star, lode star, Kwangmyŏngsŏng, Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, bright star-3, lode star-3
