North Korea, though struggling tofeed its people, is now one of the few countries to have successfully launcheda satellite into space from its own soil. But leaders in Washington, Seoul andTokyo immediately pushed for consequences over a rocket launch widely seen as atest that takes the country one step closer to being capable of lobbing nuclearbombs over the Pacific.
The surprising, successful launch of a three-stage rocket —similar in design to a model capable of carrying a nuclear-tipped warhead asfar as California — raises the stakes in the international standoff over NorthKorea's expanding atomic arsenal. As Pyongyang refines its technology, its nextstep may be conducting its third nuclear test, experts warn.
The U.N. Security Council, which has punished North Korearepeatedly for developing its nuclear program, condemned Wednesday's launch andsaid it will urgently consider "an appropriate response." The WhiteHouse called the launch a "highly provocative act that threatens regionalsecurity," and even the North's most important ally, China, expressedregret.
In Pyongyang, however, pride over the scientific advancementoutweighed the fear of greater international isolation and punishment. NorthKoreans clinked beer mugs and danced in the streets to celebrate.
"It's really good news," North Korean citizen JonIl Gwang told The Associated Press as he and scores of other Pyongyangresidents poured into the streets after a noon announcement to celebrate thelaunch by dancing in the snow. "It clearly testifies that our country hasthe capability to enter into space."
Wednesday's launch was North Korea's fifth bid since 1998.An April launch failed in the first of three stages, raising doubts amongoutside observers whether North Korea could fix what was wrong in just eightmonths, but those doubts were erased Wednesday.
The Unha rocket, named after the Korean word for"galaxy," blasted off from the Sohae launch pad in Tongchang-ri, northwestof Pyongyang, shortly before 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), just three days after NorthKorea indicated that technical problems might delay the launch.
A South Korean destroyer patrolling the waters west of theKorean Peninsula immediately detected the launch. Japanese officials said thefirst rocket stage fell into the Yellow Sea and a second stage fell into thePhilippine Sea hundreds of kilometers (miles) farther south.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command confirmed that"initial indications are that the missile deployed an object that appearedto achieve orbit."
In an indication that North Korea's leadership was worriedabout the success of the launch, the plan was kept quiet inside North Koreauntil a special noon broadcast on state TV declared the launch a success.Pyongyang was much more open during its last attempt in April, and even tookthe unusual step of inviting scores of foreign journalists for the occasion,but that rocket splintered shortly after takeoff.
At one hotel bar Wednesday, North Koreans watched raptly,cheering and applauding at the close of the brief broadcast. As vans mountedwith loudspeakers drove around the capital announcing the news, North Koreansbundled up in parkas ran outside to celebrate.
Pyongyang did not immediately release images of the launch,but hours later Associated Press reporters at the Pyongyang satellite commandcenter viewed a playback showing the rocket blasting off against a snowybackdrop in the northwest. The white rocket was emblazoned with the name "Unha-3"and the North Korean flag.
Director Kim Hye Jin said the satellite was broadcasting"Song of Gen. Kim Il Sung" and "Song of Gen. Kim Jong Il"in space. He reiterated North Korea's intention to keep launching satellites inthe future.
North Korean space officials say the satellite would be putinto orbit to study crops and weather patterns.
But the launch could leave Pyongyang even more isolated andcut off from much-needed aid and trade.
The U.N. imposed two rounds of sanctions following nucleartests in 2006 and 2009 and ordered the North not to conduct any launches usingballistic missile technology. Pyongyang maintains its right to develop acivilian space program, saying the satellite will send back crucial scientificdata.
The White House condemned what National Security Councilspokesman Tommy Vietor called "yet another example of North Korea'spattern of irresponsible behavior."
"The United States remains vigilant in the face ofNorth Korean provocations and fully committed to the security of our allies inthe region," Vietor said in a statement. "Given this current threatto regional security, the United States will strengthen and increase our closecoordination with allies and partners."
Vietor said the international community must "send aclear message that its violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions haveconsequences."
China expressed its unhappiness but called for a moderateresponse from the United Nations.
"We express regret at (North Korea's) launch in spiteof the extensive concerns of the international community," ForeignMinistry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters. He added that China "believesU.N. Security Council reaction should be prudent and moderate and conducive tomaintaining stability and avoiding escalation of the situation."
Hong said dialogue and negotiations are the way forward.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. ofoverreacting to the launch "out of hostile feelings."
"We hope that all countries concerned will use reasonand remain cool so as to prevent the situation from developing to undesirabledirection," the official Korean Central News Agency quoted a ministryspokesman as saying. The spokesman said the country will "continue toexercise our legitimate right to launch satellites."
But North Korea also defends its need to build nuclearweapons, citing the U.S. military threat in the region, and rocket tests areseen as crucial to advancing its technology.
Pyongyang is thought to have a handful of rudimentarynuclear bombs. It followed up a failed 2009 launch with a nuclear test, andannounced it would begin enriching uranium, which would provide a second sourceof atomic material.
Experts believe the North lacks the ability to make awarhead small enough to mount on a missile that could threaten the UnitedStates, but Wednesday's launch marks a milestone in its decades-long effort toperfect a multistage, long-range rocket capable of carrying such a device.
This launch will help the North Koreans map out what kind ofdelivery vehicle they would need for a nuclear warhead, said retired Air ForceCol. Cedric Leighton, a weapons expert and intelligence analyst.
There are concerns as well that Pyongyang may sell itstechnology to other nations such as Iran, which has rockets bearing a strikingsimilarity to those made by North Korea, according to the James Martin Centerfor Nonproliferation Studies.
A senior Iranian military commander, Brig. Gen. MassoudJazzayeri, congratulated North Korea on the successful launch on Wednesday,according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency.
Chae Yeon-seok, a rocket expert at South Korea's state-runKorea Aerospace Research Institute, said North Korea is now likely to focus ondeveloping bigger rockets with heavier payloads. "Its ultimate aim will beputting a nuclear warhead on the tip."
For North Koreans, Wednesday's launch caps a heady year ofmilestones: the centenary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the nation's founder,and the inaugural year of leadership under his grandson, Kim Jong Un. And onDec. 17, North Korea will mark the anniversary of the death of leader Kim JongIl.
"How happy would our General (Kim Jong Il) havebeen," Pyongyang resident Rim Un Hui said. "I'm confident that ourcountry will be stronger and more prosperous under the leadership of Kim JongUn."