North Korea Launches Rocket, Defying World Pressure

BREAKING NEWS — North Korea defiantly carried out a provocative rocket launch Sunday that the U.S., Japan and other nations suspect was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology.

Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230GMT) Sunday from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said. The multistage rocket hurtled toward the Pacific, reaching Japanese airspace within seven minutes, but no debris appeared to hit its territory, officials in Tokyo said.

The U.N. Security Council approved an emergency session for Sunday afternoon in New York, following a request from Japan that came minutes after the launch.

The South Koreans called it "reckless," the Americans "provocative," and Japan said it strongly protested the launch.

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FOXNews.com - North Korea Launches Rocket, Defying World Pressure - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

For all intents it seems North Korea has proven it is capable of hitting strategic ports in the Pacific. While Allied to a China that is in "agreement" with Russia...

The UN can resume the war if it wants right now and even be "justified" in all the intellectually dishonest whiny "international law" circles..but it won't.

You've got to love the response by our Secretary of Defense a full week before the launch:

Appearing on "FOX News Sunday," Gates said North Korea "probably will" fire the missile, prompting host Chris Wallace to ask: "And there's nothing we can do about it?"

"No," Gates answered, adding, "I would say we're not prepared to do anything about it."

It's good to know the obama administration is prepared to do nothing with an advanced warning.

Gates: U.S. Not Prepared to Respond to North Korea Missile Launch - First 100 Days of Presidency - Politics FOXNews.com

Stupid Communists, when will they learn....

George VI said:

Stupid Communists, when will they learn....

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Depends on what lesson they are supposed to learn. 12 years of UN defiance earned Saddam Hussein a supportive base within the UN and the EU. Iran has been developing and developing nuclear technology and only has to suffer the trivial insignificant complaining of the UN and the EU for their efforts. Al Bashir in Sudan engineered genocide within his borders without UN intervention and later winds up rating the UN's defense over his international arrest warrent because it might cause "instability" within Darfur and destabilize humanitarian efforts. No dictator or twisted regime on earth fears the UN or the EU. Hell, the EU has been fumbling and crying over having to support America in Afghanistan since the beginning (hence the bare minimum with conditions of safety). Does North Korea care about what they have to offer? And what did we ourselves tell North Korea a week ago?

It's up to somebody else. Maybe China will collaberate with the U.S. to do what needed to be done a long time ago. But as long as the world knows that the UN, EU, and America protest the launch, I guess nobody else will learn another truth lesson about the West or its apathetic international organizations.

Besides, North Korea already has nuclear weapons. The Cold War and the UN's mission of "stability" provided this product a long time ago. Before committing American troops to their nuclear deaths for crossing the border, short of nuclear launch, North Korea can can do whatever it wants. Let this be a lesson to those who think spreading nuclear weapons around will deter war and create "peace."

Lot of lessons to be learned. But, there won't be any of the right ones.

VIDEO: Newt: I would've disabled missile
By: Mike Allen
April 5, 2009 09:40 AM EST

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told “Fox News Sunday” that he would have disabled the long-range missile before North Korea launched it, saying too many people “do not appreciate the scale of the threat that is evolving on the planet.”

“One morning, just like 9/11, there’s going to be a disaster,” Gingrich said. “I have yet to see the United Nations do anything effective with either Iran or North Korea.”

Reacting to President Barack Obama’s speech in Prague, Gingrich called the plan for a Global Summit on Nuclear Security a “wonderful fantasy idea,” saying Russia and other nations can’t be trusted.

“What are they going to promise, and why would we believe them?” Gingrich said. “It’s very dangerous to have a fantasy foreign policy, and it can get you in enormous trouble.”

Host Chris Wallace asked Gingrich: “So you’re saying that President Gingrich would have taken out that” missile?

Gingrich replied: “There are three or four techniques that could have been used, from unconventional forces to standoff capabilities, to say: ‘We’re not going to tolerate a North Korean missile launch, period.’ I mean, the world’s either got to decide that North Korea is utterly dangerous … I’d recommend, look at electromagnetic pulse, which changes every … equation about how risky these weapons are.”

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VIDEO: Newt: I would've disabled missile - Mike Allen - POLITICO.com

GySgt said:

Besides, North Korea already has nuclear weapons.

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Thats still up in the air. Most "experts", numerous reporters, and some politicians have stated they believe they have perhaps 6-12 nuclear warheads.

Thing is North Korea did a test a few years back to prove it.

There was an explosion at the site. Wasn't very big. No signs it was nuclear.

If though they do have nuclear weapons(even smallish kiloton ones) they have with this missile test shown that they can deliver them to virtually every strategic port that would be vital in a supply line in the even of a renewal of the war.

Luckily the various ABM systems the US has developed in the past 20 years will get a major renewal in interest and the strategic defense system will not be gutted or abandoned.

Triad said:

Thats still up in the air. Most "experts", numerous reporters, and some politicians have stated they believe they have perhaps 6-12 nuclear warheads.

Thing is North Korea did a test a few years back to prove it.

There was an explosion at the site. Wasn't very big. No signs it was nuclear.

If though they do have nuclear weapons(even smallish kiloton ones) they have with this missile test shown that they can deliver them to virtually every strategic port that would be vital in a supply line in the even of a renewal of the war.

Luckily the various ABM systems the US has developed in the past 20 years will get a major renewal in interest and the strategic defense system will not be gutted or abandoned.

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Well, the "fact" is that North Korea has nuclear capabilities. Let's just leave it at that and within the bounds of public knowledge. The number really doesn't matter. What matters is that 500,000 American troops can be wiped out in an instant if North Korea is invaded.

Of course, nothing is keeping us from bombing the crap out of them and their specific military sites. But who really expects this? If the UN or the EU has anything to do with it....mere protests will suffice until the threat is bigger than can be easily handled. And if America handles it prematurely, we will simply be labeled as warmongers by our "friends."

Most of the time when they launch a missile there looking for a handout/international bribe so they can feed their people.

donc said:

Most of the time when they launch a missile there looking for a handout/international bribe so they can feed their people.

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Eeeeexacty.

They are trying to pretend to power or pretend to be something important enough for the big boys to deal with. They are definately not a miltary threat. And they are not an economical threat. They are the regional threat, but they are more harmless than a threat.

However, it's their defiance that has the world dictators and twisted regimes looking at. North Korea's defiance is their strength. UN mandates have to mean something. And when they don't......it becomes an issue for the individual nations of earth to deal with. And when they don't.....well World Wars have started over nonesense haven't they?

Well, the "fact" is that North Korea has nuclear capabilities.

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I'm not saying they don't have the capabilities I'm just saying there was no totally 100% conclusive proof that they managed to set off a nuclear explosion.
So while they may have the know-how and all that its quite possible they have failed to make it work..go boom..

Looking around I found this
"On October 16, 2006, the United States government reported that a test had found radioactive gas compatible with a nuclear explosion."
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test]2006 North Korean nuclear test - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

But if you read up to that you'll see how it may have even been a failure(fizzle)

shrug

.

Obama claimed words mattered but Russia, Iran, and now North Korea have all shown their words matter more then those read from a teleprompter.

GySgt said:

Eeeeexacty.

They are trying to pretend to power or pretend to be something important enough for the big boys to deal with. They are definately not a miltary threat. And they are not an economical threat. They are the regional threat, but they are more harmless than a threat.

However, it's their defiance that has the world dictators and twisted regimes looking at. North Korea's defiance is their strength. UN mandates have to mean something. And when they don't......it becomes an issue for the individual nations of earth to deal with. And when they don't.....well World Wars have started over nonesense haven't they?

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Economic sanctions can have an unintended effect. Look at WWII. Japan attacked the US because the US put an oil embargo on her in an attempt to starve her military. The American Cause: Why Did Japan Attack Us?

Since this missle fissled out in the Pacific it is now safe to say that was their last launch as all affiliated engineers are now face down in a ditch with a single bullet wound to the back of the head.