North Korea Space Agency logo.
Feb. 7, 2016
North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Sunday morning despite warnings from the United States and South Korea, who have decided to react immediately.
Image Above: North Korea Sunday fired a long-range rocket carrying a satellite. A new challenge for the international community which is already struggling to punish Pyongyang for its latest nuclear test and a new violation of UN resolutions. Image Credits: AFP/Yonhap.
North Korea fired on Sunday a long-range rocket carrying a satellite. A new challenge for the international community which is already struggling to punish Pyongyang for its latest nuclear test and a new violation of UN resolutions.
A presenter of the North Korean state television said around 04:30 (Swiss time GMT+1) that the rocket firing, personally ordered by leader Kim Jong-Un, was a success and allowed "to successfully place the observation satellite Kwangmyong 4 on Earth orbit (no image available). "Earlier, the South Korean agency Yonhap had reported that the second floor had been failures. The response was quick, Seoul announced that South Korea and the United States would begin discussions on the deployment of a US missile system to which Beijing strongly opposes. "It was decided to officially open talks on the possibility of deploying the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) as part of efforts to strengthen the missile defense alliance of South Korea / USA," said said Ryu Seung-I, a senior south Korean defense ministry.
North Korea launches a long-range rocket carrying a satellite
Even before the official North Korean announcement of third-country convictions were not made to wait. Tokyo denounced shot "absolutely intolerable" Washington action "provocative and destabilizing." In a statement, John Kerry reaffirmed the determination of "iron" of the United States to militarily support its Japanese and South Korean allies.
In New York, pressed Tokyo, Seoul and Washington, the UN Security Council was to meet Sunday at 11:00 (17:00 Switzerland GMT+1) in emergency. South Korean President Park Geun-Huye demanded that we adopt are "strong punitive measures." Adding that the region should not "be nuclearized and sink into war," the official China news agency she called to react calmly.
North Korea argues that its space program has purely scientific aims, but most other countries consider it as a cover for ballistic missile tests aimed at developing weapons capable of hitting US territory.
Image Above: North Korea liftoff a long-range rocket carrying a satellite.Image Credits: AFP/Yonhap.
The rocket was fired on Sunday at 09:00 (1:30 in Switzerland GMT+1), according to the South Korean Defense Ministry, who watched the launch base. His pre-orbital path was to take over the Yellow Sea, and further south, the Philippines over the sea. South Korea like Japan had threatened to shoot him.
"A successful rehearsal"
The UN prohibits, in multiple resolutions, to North Korea to develop a nuclear program as a ballistics program. If Pyongyang ensures that its space program is peaceful, experts estimate that its rockets have applications in both civilian and military.
The United States and its Japanese and South Korean allies had warned North Korea it would pay a heavy price for any rocket launch but according to analysts, she carefully chose his moment to minimize the impact.
The international community has still not managed to toughen sanctions against the regime more isolated in the world after its announcement on January 6 of a fourth nuclear test. The rocket launch will be considered by the international community as a "provocation", but that should not significantly load the boat new punishments incurred by Pyongyang.
"All we can observe shows that this is a successful rehearsal of the launch of 2012," commented an American expert in military technology. "But it is too early to say for sure."
Effectiveness questioned
Latest of North Korea, December 2012 rocket launch placed a satellite into orbit using an Unha-3 rocket. Western intelligence agencies suspect that this satellite has ever functioned properly, which adds to the arguments of those who believe that the scientific objective of this operation was a dress.
Despite the bellicose rhetoric of North Korea, experts believe that Pyongyang is still years can develop a credible program of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
"Unlike a satellite, a nuclear warhead mounted on ICBMs must come down and more power up," said John Schilling, aerospace engineer, which closely follows the North Korean missile program.
"Pyongyang has never demonstrated its ability to build a vehicle that can go into the atmosphere and survive, including a half speed less than that required for an ICBM," he says. He added: "when and if they become able, which is a hypothetical threat becomes real."
North Korea has no access to the Internet (blocked by the government), so there is no website.
Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: ATS/RT/ANN News/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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