AMN /
North Korea today defied international warnings and launched a long-range rocket that the United Nations and others call a cover for a banned test of technology for a missile that could strike the US mainland. The launch, which South Korean officials confirmed about two hours after an eight-day launch window opened this morning.
North Korean rocket and nuclear tests are seen as crucial steps toward the North’s ultimate goal of a nuclear armed long-range missile arsenal. North Korea says its rocket launches are satellite missions, but the US, South Korea and others say they are a covert test of ballistic missile technology. United States has denounced North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket as destabilizing and provocative. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the launch absolutely unacceptable and clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.