N Korean rocket puts object into space
North Korea launched a long-range rocket carrying what it called a satellite, drawing renewed international condemnation just weeks after it carried out a nuclear bomb test.
Critics of the rocket program say it is being used to test technology for a long-range missile. The US Strategic Command said it had detected a missile entering space, and South Korea's military said the rocket had put an object into orbit.
South Korea and the United States said they would explore whether to deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea "at the earliest possible date."
"If it can communicate with the Kwangmyongsong-4, North Korea will learn about operating a satellite in space," said David Wright, co-director and senior scientist at the Global Security Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The UN Security Council condemned the launch in an emergency meeting on late Sunday, and vowed to take "significant measures" in response to Pyongyang's violations of UN resolutions.
Meanwhile, the South Korean navy fired warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat that intruded over their disputed maritime border yesterday. The defence ministry in Seoul said the North Korean vessel crossed the Yellow Sea border just before 7:00am. "It quickly retreated after the South Korean navy fired warning shots," a ministry official said.
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