As we reported earlier, Wednesday was a big day for North Korea. Kim Jong-un was honored with a couple of new titles (as if “supreme leader” weren’t enough), his late father was immortalized, a few candles were lit, and North Koreans acted out scenes of rapture to various degrees of success.
But wait, there’s more. In the lead-up to the 100th birthday of late Kim Il-sung, the North Korean army planned a glorious display of military prowess: the launch of the Unha-3 long-range rocket. Defying weeks of warnings and threats of further sanctions, North Korea gave the go-ahead this evening (Friday morning over yonder).
The three-stage rocket, which some have warned is the first step towards a nuclear-capable ICBM, rose proudly into the sky…and then promptly fell apart. Reports from South Korea suggest the rocket failed to even leave the country.
Nevertheless, according to South Korea, it was intended as a belligerent statement, while North Korea maintains it was just another part of the national celebrations of Kim Il-sung. But as is often the case, in the end, North Korea failed to make much of a statement at all.
—Thomas L. Hauch
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