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Experts believe the North lacks the ability to make a warhead small enough to mount on a missile that could threaten the United States, but Wednesday's launch marks a milestone in its decades-long effort to perfect a multistage, long-range rocket capable of carrying such a device.
This launch will help the North Koreans map out what kind of delivery vehicle they would need for a nuclear warhead, said retired Air Force Col. Cedric Leighton, a weapons expert and intelligence analyst.
There are concerns as well that Pyongyang may sell its technology to other nations such as Iran, which has rockets bearing a striking similarity to those made by North Korea, according to the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
A senior Iranian military commander, Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazzayeri, 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-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute, said North Korea is now likely to focus on developing bigger rockets with heavier payloads. "Its ultimate aim will be putting a nuclear warhead on the tip."
For North Koreans, Wednesday's launch caps a heady year of milestones: 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 on Dec. 17, North Korea will mark the anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Il.
"How happy would our General (Kim Jong Il) have been," Pyongyang resident Rim Un Hui said. "I'm confident that our country will be stronger and more prosperous under the leadership of Kim Jong Un."
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/13/south-korea-says-north-korea-rocket-appears-to-be-orbiting-earth-as-north/?test=latestnews#ixzz2Ex4iBgqV
