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North Korea Will Try Again With Missile Launch

Last long-range attempt fizzled in April

By the Associated Press

Posted Dec 1, 2012 8:24 AM CST

(AP) – North Korea said today it would try to launch a long-range rocket in mid-December, a defiant move just eight months after a failed April bid was widely condemned as a violation of a UN ban against developing its nuclear and missile programs. The launch, set for Dec. 10 to 22, would be North Korea's second attempt under leader Kim Jong Un, who took power following his father Kim Jong Il's death nearly a year ago. The announcement followed speculation overseas about stepped-up activity at North Korea's west coast launch pad captured in satellite imagery.

A spokesman for North Korea's Korean Committee for Space Technology said scientists have "analyzed the mistakes" made in the failed April launch and improved the precision of its Unha rocket and Kwangmyongsong satellite, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Washington considers North Korea's rocket launches to be veiled covers for tests of technology for long-range missiles designed to strike the United States, and such tests are banned by the United Nations.

In this April 8, 2012, file photo, a North Korean soldier stands in front of the country's Unha-3 rocket, which later failed.
In this April 8, 2012, file photo, a North Korean soldier stands in front of the country's Unha-3 rocket, which later failed.   (David Guttenfelder)
This Nov. 26 satellite image shows the Sohae Satellite Launch Station in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea.
This Nov. 26 satellite image shows the Sohae Satellite Launch Station in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea.   (Uncredited)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 19 comments
HANKHILL
Dec 2, 2012 7:01 PM CST
good for them! they want to be the first to put a unicorn in space!!!!!!!!!!!
HarryBeaver
Dec 2, 2012 2:43 PM CST
Freud is much maligned, but he got missiles right.
RAD45
Dec 2, 2012 8:36 AM CST
North Korea will, at best, be a pain in the butt diplomatically.. but remember, the last war they started didn't turn out well. They are a client state of China being propped up diplomatically and financially so China won't have a prosperous unified Korea on its border.  Second, as is noted in other posts, North Korea's missle program is waaaay behind the 21st Century. China and Russia, do not intend North Korea as any kind of Pacific Power. The whole Jong Il family thrives on the international spotlight as they don't have much illumination inside their country (literally and figuratively), so why is the western media agogg any time there's an annoucement from Pongyang?  Ignore them and they'll recede into oblivion.  Some day, some bright North Korean Army guy will eliminate the Jong Dynasty and open North Korea to the world.

Copyright 2013 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

 
North Korea • missile • Kim Jong Un

 
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