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North Korea launches rocket in defiance of critics North Korean rocket launch succeeds
(about 2 hours later)
North Korea launched its second long-range rocket of 2012 on Wednesday in what it said was an attempt to put a satellite into space. North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Wednesday morning, defying international pressure to abandon what many see as a test of its ballistic missile capability and risking fresh sanctions.
The rocket was launched close to the first anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il and as elections loom in South Korea and Japan. Reports said the three-stage Unha rocket appeared to have followed its expected trajectory. Japan said the first stage had splashed down in the Yellow Sea west of South Korea and the second landed in the sea east of the Philippines.
The launch, reported by South Korean media, was confirmed by South Korea's defence ministry. North Korea's state news agency, the KCNA, said the country had successfully launched a rocket carrying a satellite. There was no immediate independent confirmation that a satellite had made it into orbit.
Pyongyang says it is entitled to launch a satellite into space but critics say the rocket development is aimed at nurturing the kind of technology needed to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile. The launch from the Donchang-ri site in North Pyongan province at 9.49am local time took the world by surprise. Speculation had mounted that it would be delayed by at least several days while North Korean engineers fixed what had been described as a "technical deficiency" in the rocket's first-stage control engine module.
North Korea is banned from conducting missile and nuclear-related tests under UN sanctions imposed after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. Daniel Pinkston, deputy project director of the North East Asia programme at the International Crisis Group, said the early launch suggested there had either been a misperception along the way or a deliberate operation to mislead observers.
The latest launch comes after a failed attempt in April that fizzled less than two minutes after blast-off. But Pinkston said no one should be surprised by the North's decision to fire another rocket. "It would be absolutely illogical for them not to do it," he said.
Japan and South Korea put their armed forces on alert prior to the launch. The rocket is scheduled to pass between the Korean peninsula and China, with a second stage splashing down off the Philippines before launching the satellite into orbit. "They have invested tremendous amounts of resources in this over decades. They want to possess the capabilities: this is dual use technology with both military and peaceful applications. They are supposed to be a strong and prosperous and powerful country ... this is what you do."
Most political analysts believe the launch is designed to bolster the credentials of new leader Kim Jong-un as he cements his rule over the country of 22 million people. North Korea said recently it had extended the original 13-day launch window by a week until 29 December. On Tuesday satellite images suggested that the entire rocket had been emptied of fuel and removed from its launchpad.
A government official in Seoul said recently that the transition of power to Kim Jong-un did not appear to be going as smoothly as anticipated and there were signs that the regime was concerned over the possibility of rising dissent. The apparently successful launch will have bolstered the credentials of the North's 29-year-old leader, Kim Jong-un, who was anointed just under a year ago after the death on 17 December 2011 of his father, Kim Jong-il. Reports from North Korea had said the latest rocket launch would proceed "at the behest" of the late dictator.
Plans for the launch has drawn criticism from South Korea, Russia, Japan and the United States as well as NATO and the United Nations. Wednesday's move follows four previous unsuccessful attempts to put satellites in space using long-range rockets that cast doubt on North Korean claims it had dramatically improved its technological know-how.
The North's only major diplomatic ally, China, has expressed "deep concern" over the launch but is thought unlikely to back any further sanctions. The most recent attempt came on 13 April – two days before the centennial of the birth of the country's founder and Kim Jong-un's grandfather, Kim Il-sung – when another three-stage rocket disintegrated less than two minutes after lift-off. In an unusual show of candour the regime quickly admitted that the launch had been a failure.
North Korea launched its second long-range rocket of 2012 on Wednesday and may have finally succeeded in putting a satellite into space, the stated aim of what critics say is a disguised ballistic missile test. John Delury, of Yonsei University in Seoul, suggested the North felt it had to go ahead with the latest launch after the humiliating failure in April. "They couldn't even try to spin that as a partial success," he said. "They set it up as a big moment to celebrate the centenary of Kim Il-sung, a major celebration, and completely failed – and they openly admitted it. I think domestic legitimacy is the primary thing."
The rocket was launched just before 10am Korean time (1.00am GMT) and flew over the Japanese island of Okinawa. Its April rocket launch was aborted after less than two minutes flight. North Korea watchers agreed that Wednesday's launch appeared to have been successful. "If the initial reports of the launch are correct, the rocket appears to have followed closely the path originally announced by North Korea," said Martyn Williams of the North Korea Tech blog.
South Korea and Japan called meetings of their top security councils after the launch. Japanese television station NHK said the second stage of the rocket had crashed into seas off the Philippines as planned. Williams, who has been following preparations for the launch via satellite images, said: "That alone makes it more successful than April's launch attempt. If it actually makes it into space and releases a working satellite, it will be a major moment in the country's history and a huge propaganda success for the North Korean regime."
It was not immediately clear if the third stage carrying the satellite had made it into space. The South Korean military detected the rocket as soon as it was airborne, according to the South's Yonhap news agency. "Shortly after liftoff an Aegis radar system in the Yellow Sea detected the move," a military official was quoted as saying.
There was no immediate announcement from North Korea on the launch. It made a formal announcement when the April launch had failed, but has previously claimed that it put a satellite into space in 2009, something no one has been able to verify. The US, Japan and South Korea had applied pressure on the North Korean regime to abandon the launch, saying it violated UN security council resolutions banning it from using ballistic missile technology and would invite further sanctions. The UN security council imposed tough sanctions after the North conducted nuclear weapons tests in 2006 and 2009.
The rocket was launched close to the first anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il and as elections loom in South Korea and Japan. China, the regime's only major diplomatic ally and chief benefactor, voiced "deep concern" but is expected to oppose further sanctions. Japan on Wednesday requested an emergency meeting of the UN body to discuss its response.
Pyongyang says it is entitled to launch a satellite into space but critics say the rocket development is aimed at nurturing the kind of technology needed to mount a nuclear warhead on a long-range missile. Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, said: "I strongly condemn the satellite launch today." The UK government would summon the North Korean ambassador in London, he said. "This provocative act will increase tensions in the region. I deplore the fact that [North Korea] has chosen to prioritise this launch over improving the livelihoods of its people.
North Korea is banned from conducting missile and nuclear-related tests under UN sanctions imposed after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. "It is essential that [North Korea] refrain from further provocative action and take constructive steps towards denuclearisation and lasting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula."
The rocket's path was scheduled to pass between the Korean peninsula and China, with a second stage splashing down off the Philippines before launching the satellite into orbit. Pinkston said that while the US and others would take the issue to the security council, he thought a presidential statement was a more likely outcome than a fresh resolution.
Most political analysts believe the launch is designed to bolster the credentials of new leader Kim Jong-un as he cements his rule over the country of 22 million people. China might sign up to a presidential statement and criticise the North in private but Pinkston said he was sceptical about whether they would take action "that really raises the costs" for North Korea.
A government official in Seoul said recently that the transition of power to Kim Jong-un did not appear to be going as smoothly as anticipated and there were signs that the regime was concerned over the possibility of rising dissent. The North has frequently dismissed accusations that it uses rocket launches as a cover to test its ballistic missile technology which, if perfected, could give the regime a projectile capable of reaching the US mainland.
Plans for the launch had drawn criticism from South Korea, Russia, Japan and the United States as well as Nato and the United Nations. North Korea is believed to possess several rudimentary nuclear weapons, although experts say it has yet to develop a warhead small enough to mount on a missile.
The North's only major diplomatic ally, China, has expressed "deep concern" over the launch but is thought unlikely to back any further sanctions against. North Korea insists the rocket launch was intended to send an Earth observation satellite into orbit. Two hours after Wednesday's launch no reliable information was immediately available on the fate of the satellite.
The anticipated launch had raised anxiety levels in the region, days before both Japan and South Korea elect new leaders and weeks after China completed its once-in-a-decade leadership change.
Japan had positioned missile defence systems on the southern island of Okinawa but reported that no debris had fallen on to its territory.
South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, convened an emergency security meeting. The country had positioned three Aegis warships equipped with SPY-1 radar off its western and southern coasts to track the rocket's path.