Current Event

North Korea launched a long-range rocket in defiance of UN sanctions threats over what Pyongyang's critics insist is a disguised ballistic missile test. There was no immediate report on the success of the launch, but the Japanese government said the missile had passed its southern island chain of Okinawa around 12 minutes after take-off. Japan had deployed missile defense systems to intercept and destroy the rocket if it looked set to fall on its territory. In Seoul, President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency meeting of his National Security Council to discuss the implications of the launch. Japan's government found the launch intolerable, chief government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said. "It is extremely regrettable that North Korea went through with the launch despite our calls to exercise restraint," he said. The launch followed reports in the South Korean media and satellite imagery analysis by US experts that suggested the rocket had been removed from the launch pad to repair an apparent technical problem.