North Korea Launches Missile

The North Korean Foreign Ministry officially confirmed that today at 6.30 am (Moscow time) a missile carrying the Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite was launched from the Musudan-ri launch site in the northeast of North Korea. The first stage of the missile fell into the Sea of Japan 280 km from Japanese coast. The second stage fell into the Pacific Ocean over 1,000 km from Japan. The satellite entered its scheduled orbit and is operating as planned.

Japan, South Korea and the U.S. condemned the launch, calling it an act of provocation. U.S. President Barack Obama stated that North Korea's actions are in "clear defiance" of UNSC Resolution No 1718, adopted in 2006 after a nuclear test by Pyongyang.