[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] North Korea
...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche...said its attempt to launch a second spy satellite failed when the rocket carrying it went
kaboom!shortly after takeoff on Monday.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency said the rocket went
kaboom!during a first-stage flight because of a possible engine malfunction, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported. The hermit nation is also exploring other possible causes of the failure.
The launch came as leaders of South Korea, China, and Japan met in South Korea. The gathering is the first time in four years that the three countries have held a trilateral meeting.
North Korea’s claims about its satellite launches have been met with skepticism from the United States and its allies, who contend that the launches are a guise for testing long-range ballistic missiles.
Japan briefly issued a missile warning for part of Okinawa on Monday because of the attempted launch
| Courtesy of Frank G, 10News adds: |
Kim’s primary focus in recent months has been on Russia, as Pyongyang and Moscow — both locked in confrontations with Washington — expand their military cooperation. China, which is much more sensitive about its international reputation, has joined Russia in blocking U.S.-led efforts at the U.N. Security Council to tighten sanctions on the North but has been less bold and open about supporting Kim's “new Cold War” drive.
The failed satellite launch is a blow to Kim's plan to launch three more military spy satellites in 2024 in addition to his country's first military reconnaissance satellite that was placed in orbit last November.
The November launch followed two failed liftoffs.
In the first attempt, the North Korean rocket carrying the satellite crashed into the ocean soon after liftoff. After the second attempt, North Korea said there was an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday it detected a launch trajectory believed to be of a spy satellite fired from the North’s main space center at 10:44 p.m. on Monday. Four minutes later, many fragments were spotted in the waters, it said.