North Korea launches rocket in defiance of UN sanctions

North Korea defied the likelihood of more sanctions by the United Nations Security Council to launch a rocket on Wednesday, December 12 demonstrating that the government of its new leader, Kim Jong-un, was pressing ahead to master the technology needed to deliver a nuclear warhead on intercontinental ballistic missiles, The Globe and Mail reported.

The Unha-3, or Galaxy-3, rocket blasted off from North Korea’s western coast near China on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for South Korea’s Defence Ministry said.

North Korea confirmed it had launched a long-range rocket and succeeded in its mission of placing a satellite into orbit.

North Korea has said its three-stage rocket would carry an earth-observation satellite and that it was exercising its right to peaceful activity in space.

But Washington and its allies have said they think that North Korea’s rocket program has less to do with putting a satellite into orbit than with developing a delivery vehicle for a nuclear warhead and turning the country into a more urgent threat that Washington must deal with by offering diplomatic and economic concessions.

The United States has “noted” North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket and is monitoring the situation, a U.S. official said late Tuesday.

Wednesday’s launching also demonstrated a shrewd political manoeuvre by his regime. Only Monday, it told the rest of the world that it had found a technical glitch with its rocket and needed until Dec. 29 to fix the problem and carry out the launch.


Source: PanARMENIAN.Net News - 12 December 2012

Photo: The North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket and is monitoring the situation. Unha-3 Rocket fires (Photo by files)


(11.12.2012)