North Korea has launched a missile.

[Garfield226]

CNN is reporting that North Korea has launched a missile, but not the long-range one the U.S. has been watching.

[Happy_Clam]

A test, or a real missile?

[Garfield226]

@Happy Clam

A test, or a real missile?

The banner on CNN says “North Korea has test-launched a missile but not the long-range weapon the U.S. has been monitoring, sources tell CNN”

[Brilharma]

Now it says “North Korea test-fires at least three missiles, one of them a long-range weapon that the U.S. has been monitoring, U.S. sources say.”

Time left to build a fall-out shelter?

[Seven]

This page reports 4 mid-range missles fired.

[Seven]

More from CNN…

Both missiles were launched from a site other than the one intelligence officials have watched for weeks ahead of the long-range missile test, a senior State Department official said.

link

You ever get the feeling the USA intelligence agency isn’t the brightest bulb in the knife drawer?

If only there was a Team of American* forces ready to deal with North Korea.

*Fuck Yeah!

[Queen_Bruin]

CNN is calling the test “apparently unsuccessful”.

[Tuckerfan]

They’re SCUDs which have a habit of breaking up while in flight, though I suppose that’s not much comfort for the Japanese.

[si_blakely]

I thought it was traditional to launch exploding rockets on the 4th of July.

The North Koreans are just trying to understand you americans, thats all

Si

[JThunder]

@si_blakely

The North Koreans are just trying to understand you americans, thats all

“Capitalist running dog Americans” to you, bucko.

[Tuckerfan]

White House says 6 missiles were fired, including 1 long range missile.

North Korea test-launched a Taepodong-2 missile early Wednesday along with several short-range rockets, but the long-range missile apparently failed, U.S. officials said.

The White House said there was no immediate threat to the United States, but called the North Korean tests “a provocation.”

U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said there were five missile launches in all. One was the Taepodong-2 missile, and the other four were short-range.

A short time after Hadley spoke, North Korea launched a sixth missile, U.S. military sources said.

[Sublight]

Mainichi News: NORTH KOREA LAUNCHES LONG-RANGE MISSILES

They seem a bit fuzzy on some details, though.

“Four of the five missiles were short range and the long-range Taepodong-2 failed after 35 seconds. The short-range missiles landed in the Sea of Japan.”

[Oakminster]

Heh. So much for *“with a relentless annihilating strike and a nuclear war with a mighty nuclear deterrent.” *.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/04/korea.missile/index.html

Guess they meant “with a noisy fart and a flacid phallus” or something.

[Tuckerfan]

[Kim Il Jong: What are you going to do about it, Hans Blix?

Blix: I’ll report you to the Security Council and they’ll send you a nasty letter telling you just how angry they are.](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/06/korea.missile.us/index.html)

U.N. Security Council members have denounced North Korea’s missile test-launches and began considering a draft resolution Wednesday that would impose sanctions on the Communist nation’s missile program.

No action was taken, but the diplomats and technical experts are to meet again Thursday to go over language of the resolution behind closed doors.

After the initial discussions, China and Russia expressed the desire for a weaker council statement – something that would avoid sanctions and the weight of international law.

[Jurph]

@Seven

You ever get the feeling the USA intelligence agency isn’t the brightest bulb in the knife drawer?

The thing about multiple launch sites is that the TD-2 (the longest ranged system they fired) launches from a Cape Canaveral style fixed gantry and takes days or weeks to prepare for a launch. The other systems that were launched are all road-mobile, and can be fired from anywhere you can fit their trucks and support equipment. It’s the difference between keeping track of a barge crane with a wrecking ball, and keeping track of several pickup trucks full of DeWalt tools.

The big one was supposed to be the centerpiece of the whole thing, but it failed partway through its first stage. The other systems are regularly test-fired into the Sea of Japan. Yawn