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Debris of Nork booster rocket pulled from ocean
South Korea has released the first images of debris believed to be from a long-range rocket fired by North Korea on Sunday. The pieces were pulled from the sea southwest of Jeju Island shortly after Pyongyang announced it had successfully launched the earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4 into orbit. Recovered debris pieces were being analyzed, South Korea said.Officials say the number of pieces indicate that the rocket's first-stage booster was fitted with a self-destruct device. An official with South Korea's Defense Ministry said that the booster "separated from [the rocket's] main body and exploded into about 270 pieces." There was no indication that any of the pieces came from the satellite. Unlike the previous launch in December 2012, few large pieces were recovered. On Monday, a senior U.S. defense official told CNN the satellite was "tumbling in orbit" and incapable of functioning in any useful way. South Korea also said the object appeared to be in orbit and that no signal had been received. North Koreans celebrated the country's launch of a satellite into orbit with an official fireworks display Monday night in Pyongyang, state broadcaster KCTV reported. "We hope that the future of our space technology keeps growing and shines like these fireworks in the sky," an announcer on the North Korean broadcaster said during coverage of the celebrations in the capital. Yoon Dong Hyun, vice director of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces, struck a defiant note in a speech at the celebrations, vowing the country would continue developing its aerospace technology in the face of international sanctions. Efforts by other countries to block such an advance were "nothing more than a puppy barking towards the moon," he said. A state TV newsreader said the operation had been personally ordered and directed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "The date of the launch appears to be in consideration of the weather condition and ahead of the Lunar New Year and the U.S. Super Bowl," said Jo Ho-young, chairman of the South Korean National Assembly Intelligence Committee. Alison Evans, senior analyst for Asia-Pacific at IHS Country Risk, said that Pyongyang had likely calculated that by carrying out the rocket launch so soon after the January 6 nuclear test -- before the international community had responded to the latter with new sanctions -- it might face less severe repercussions than if the launch and test were responded to individually. However, she said, there's not a lot more the international community can do to sanction Pyongyang.
Posted by: Steve White 2016-02-10 |
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