WORLD & NATION
North Korea’s controversial rocket launch a failure
APRIL 20, 2012
By Haejin Song
Staff Writer
In 2006, North Korea's nuclear test was considered a
fizzle and in 2009, a similar fate followed their missile
launch. Several days ago. North Korea thought the third
time would be its charm. However, things did not go as
planned.
Pyongyang announced initial plans to launch the Unha-
3 rocket, "Milky Way," sometime between April 12 and
April 16. Although North Korea claimed it was a satellite
launch to study the country's weather and agricultural
patterns, many analysts considered it to be a long-range
missile test.
"North Korea attempted to launch two satellites in the
past and both times they have failed," said Nicholas Miller
'07, analyst with the Center for Strategic Research and
Analysis, in an email interview. "While the North Korean
government may claim that a satellite launch is different
from a missile launch, it still requires technology that has
been banned under U.N. Security resolutions 1718 and
1874."
Several images from GlobalSecurity.org showed
entrances of underground tunnels at the Punggye-ri site
where nuclear tests were previously conducted in 2006 and
2009. North Korea was condemned by the international
community for carrying out its launches despite warnings
and has made any form of possible negotiation difficult in
the near future, notably with the United States.
Although North Korea had agreed to suspend its
nuclear activities in return for U.S. food aid, the deal was
canceled when North Korea, shortly after the agreement,
announced its rocket launch plans.
"Their efforts to launch a missile clearly demonstrates
that they could not be trusted to keep their commitments,"
said White House National Security Council spokesperson
Ben Rhodes to Reuters.
As the world kept a vigilant eye on North Korea's
rocket launch, the isolated nation surprisingly welcomed
200 foreign journalists to Pyongyang for the launch and
the weekend-long commemorations of Kim Ill-Sung and
Kim Jong-Il. According to Sky News, it was the "largest
number of overseas media ever welcomed in to the
reclusive state."
On April 13, North Korea carried out its plans and
launched the rocket. However, the much-anticipated
launch failed.
According to a U.S. official, the rocket broke apart
81 seconds after its launch and then fell into the ocean,
reported CNN.
"North Korea thought they were ready (for the launch),
but they weren't," said George Guo, associate professor of
political science. "Most people expected the rocket launch
to be symbolic but North Korea failed badly."
Although many were relieved by North Korea's failure,
some are becoming apprehensive about North Korea's
next step and the country's response to the rocket's
embarrassing outcome.
"The possibility of an additional long-range rocket
launch or a nuclear test, as well as a military provocation to
strengthen internal solidarity, is very high," a senior South
Korean defense ministry official told a parliamentary
hearing, reported Reuters.
"A nuclear test next month is a virtual certainty," added
Marcus Noland, a North Korea expert at Peter G. Peterson
Institute for International Economics in Washington,
reported the LA Times.
What may have surprised the international community
more than North Korea's rocket failure was North Korea's
public acknowledgment of the unsuccessful launch.
"The earth observation satellite failed to enter its preset
orbit. Scientists, technicians, and experts are now looking
into the cause of the failure," reported North Korea's
official Korean Central News Agency.
Under Kim Jong-ITs rule. North Korea had blatantly
stressed their previous unsuccessful launches as
triumphant; analysts believe North Korea's current
acknowledgment to be a dramatic shift in leadership.
"Some believe, and I would probably put myself in this
camp, that more than likely a power struggle is occurring
within^the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," said
Miller.
"It could be an indication of subtle change in the
North Korean leadership — in how they handle these
things," said Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute of
Defense Analyses to Reuters. "I mean it would have been
unthinkable for them to admit this kind of failure in the
past, something that could be seen as an international
humiliation. The decision to have come out with the
admission had to come from Kim Jong-un."
Deforestation in Cambodian communities
For Keyla's full article, along with slideshows of pictures
from her trip to Cambodia, please see www.gullfordian.com
It’s an age old saying: "sometimes we have to
lose something before we appreciate it" This
proves true in the case of many Cambodian
villagers who have seen the forests around
them disappearing for decades now.
Both legal and illegal causes have contributed
to the country's mass deforestation. With the
lack of government action to preserve and
protect the resource, many communities have
begun to fight back.
Their actions have included roadblocks,
protests and patrolling through the forest to
catch illegal loggers.
“Our goal is to stop the cutting down
of trees,” said Wutty Chut, director of the
Natural Resources Protection Group, a local
NGO.“lf the tree falls down, it is too late.”
-Keyla Beebe, sophomore
Read more on www.guilfordian.com
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amps up surveillance
before Iran nuclear talks
By Kate Gibson
Staff Writer
CIA surveillance of Iran evaded public
knowledge until a bat-winged stealth
surveillance drone crashed in Iran last
December. Now, the Washington Post
reports that this drone was one of many
sent over the past three years to gather
intel on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Though Iran has publicly denied
using uranium enrichment facilities to
advance nuclear weapons production,
many still fear that Iran's resources are
intended for more than just nuclear
power.
To generate nuclear power, these
facilities would only require uranium
enriched to 3-5 percent. However, Iran
has stated that it has uranium enriched
to over 20 percent, which makes it
eligible for nuclear weapons material.
"The only reason you would want to
enrich it over (20 percent) is that you're
going to make a nuclear weapon,"
said Robert Duncan, visiting assistant
professor of political science. "So, this
whole thing about, 'it's for peaceful
usage (in a) nuclear power plant,' that's
hogwash."
According to the Washington Post,
the U.S. government had increased
its intelligence efforts in order to
strengthen their bargaining stance for
nuclear talks with Iran.
Iran, Germany, and the five members
of the U.N. Security Council met for 10
hours on April 14 to talk about the future
of Iran's nuclear program, reported the
Washington Post. Iran seemed open to
negotiations, but officials and analysts
remain skeptical.
"Iran and North Korea are two peas
in the same pod," said Duncan. "They'll
agree to talk, they'll get concessions and
then they'll break their promises and go
back to being belligerent. It's just a shell
game to stall for time. I don't think the
Iranians have any intention at all of
abandoning their nuclear program."
As Danish Foreign Minister Villy
Sovndal told reporters, Iranian officials
"are world champions in making very
long negotiations lead nowhere."
At this point, analysts believe that a
compromise is the only solution. One
popular suggestion is allowing Iran to
"continue limited low-level enrichment
if it in return accepts much more
intrusive U.N. nuclear inspections,"
reported Reuters.
However, Iran may want economic
sanctions lifted sooner rather than later,
specifically the trade embargos imposed
by Western countries on Iran's oil. A
senior Obama administration official
stated that sanctions will not be lifted
until Iran begins acting on its word,
according to Reuters.
In any case, there are serious dangers
with allowing the Iranian nuclear
programs to continue in any form.
"(There is) the potential for a rogue
leader to do something crazy, to launch
WWIII," said Duncan. "A fanatic,
someone who doesn't give a poop
about the people or themselves, could
do something disastrous and start the
nuclear ball rolling, and that's scary."
A second round of nuclear talks
is scheduled for May 23 in the Iraqi
capital. But until then, Duncan is not
taking any chances.
"I think I'm going to build a bomb
shelter in my backyard," said Duncan.
"Just in case."