North Korea launches mystery satellites into orbit

A long-range rocket launch conducted by North Korea over the weekend has reportedly put a pair of different objects – possible satellites – into orbit, while drawing condemnation from the global community as a missile test conducted in blatant disregard of international warnings.

According to Associated Press and Reuters reports, the launch took place at approximately 9:00 local time Sunday at a site on the west coast of North Korea. The liftoff was tracked individually by the US Strategic Command and by their counterparts in Japan and South Korea.

Japanese television coverage air footage taken from a camera at the border between China and North Korea that showed a streak of light heading into the sky, and North Korea said the launch was conducted to put the Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite into orbit earlier than originally expected. Reports indicate that its launch window was originally scheduled to open on February 8.

The US Joint Space Operations Center (JSPOC) told Reuters that the launch actually placed two objects into orbit, and that it was tracking both of them travelling in orbit at an inclination of 97.5 degrees – a nearly polar, sun-synchronous orbit. It is unclear at this time if either is transmitting signals, they added.

Was this a scientific launch, or something more sinister?

The JSPOC, a division of the US Strategic Command, also said that the launch vehicle is likely the same used during North Korea’s last launch in December 2012, the Unha-3, as the orbits of the satellite and other details of the launch are said to be extremely similar in nature.

The North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration has called the launch “an epochal event in developing the country’s science, technology, economy and defense capability by legitimately exercising the right to use space for independent and peaceful purposes,” while the US and its international allies believe that the launch was actually a covert missile test.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the launch an “intolerable provocation,” telling the AP that Sunday’s missile launch was “all about maintaining the regime” of current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe added that his country would be ready to “take action to totally protect the safety and well-being of our people.”

The UN Security Council condemned the launch in an emergency meeting on Sunday, according to Reuters, and promised to take “significant measures” over what they called a violation of UN resolutions. US Ambassador Samantha Power added she would “ensure that the Security Council imposes serious consequences” in response to North Korea’s “latest transgressions,” which come on the heels of an alleged atomic bomb test conducted by the country back in January.

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