North Korea's rocket launch fails as world condemns action
Launch en's in failure and embarrassment for North Korea, breaking up only after a minutes lift off
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A much-heralded test of North Korea's rocket technology has ended in failure and embarrassment for the regime in Pyongyang less than two minutes after lift-off.
The Unha-3 rocket, which Washington claimed was cover for a ballistic missile test and drew condemnation from around the world, exploded into about 20 pieces fell into the Yellow Sea.
The North Koreans ignored eleventh-hour pleas from the US, South Korea and Japan not to go through with the launch, insisting its sole purpose was to put an earth observation satellite into orbit.
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In a rare show of candour, an announcement broadcast by North Korean state TV acknowledged that the three-stage rocket had failed to enter orbit. "Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure,"
The North American aerospace defence command, Norad, said it had tracked the missile after its launch at at 7:39am local time. The first stage fell into the sea about 100 miles west of the South Korean capital, Seoul, and the remainder was is believed to have broken up and landed in the sea. Norad said no debris had fallen on land or threatened populated areas.
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Launch en's in failure and embarrassment for North Korea, breaking up only after a minutes lift off
The Unha-3 rocket, which Washington claimed was cover for a ballistic missile test and drew condemnation from around the world, exploded into about 20 pieces fell into the Yellow Sea.
The North Koreans ignored eleventh-hour pleas from the US, South Korea and Japan not to go through with the launch, insisting its sole purpose was to put an earth observation satellite into orbit.
The North American aerospace defence command, Norad, said it had tracked the missile after its launch at at 7:39am local time. The first stage fell into the sea about 100 miles west of the South Korean capital, Seoul, and the remainder was is believed to have broken up and landed in the sea. Norad said no debris had fallen on land or threatened populated areas.
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| South Korean television shows a graphic of North Korea's rocket launch. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images |