Although a critical third stage of a North Korean rocket apparently failed in a launch Sunday, U.S. military and intelligence officials and weapons experts said the test had raised new concerns about advancements in Pyongyang’s mastery of missile technology.
North Korea said the purpose of the launch was to place a civilian satellite into orbit. U.S. and Western officials said it was not clear whether there was a satellite on the rocket but that if there was, it never made it to orbit.
The launch was the latest North Korean weapons test to fall short of the country’s objective, but the test still shows disturbing progress in the communist government’s pursuit of the ability to deliver a nuclear warhead, according to U.S. officials and weapons experts.
Unlike a 2006 North Korean missile test in which a Taepodong-2 failed 40 seconds after launch, this time the rocket successfully went through the first two stages.
A senior Defense Department official said the military was now “clearly more worried” about Pyongyang’s missile technology. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Pentagon did not authorize anyone to speak publicly about the launch.
U.S. officials said the rocket launched Sunday was a multistage Taepodong-2, and there was broad agreement that the North Korean explanation about launching a satellite was merely cover for a long-range ballistic missile test.
“The U.S. knows enough to conclude this was not a peaceful satellite launch,” said Michael Green, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Weapons experts said that while the launch cleared Japan, it is unclear whether the rocket ever reached its third stage or failed after its second engine fired, sending its remaining booster as well as its payload into the Pacific.
“There was no successful satellite launch,” said a U.S. official familiar with intelligence reports on the rocket and discussing it on condition of anonymity. “If indeed there was a satellite involved, that didn’t come to pass.”
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Even so, North Korea demonstrated an ability to launch a multistage rocket that is likely to bolster its reputation among other states seeing that capability, said David Albright, a nuclear weapons expert and president of the Institute for Science and International Security.
“North Korea will still be looked upon as a supplier of reasonably good missiles, and the pariah state leader in technology on missiles,” Albright said.
The demonstration may be of particular interest to Pakistan, which has a long history of relying on North Korea for much of its missile technology. But Pyongyang’s continuing work with its Taepodong-2 could draw the attention of other countries such as Iran, Syria and perhaps Myanmar, Albright said.
U.S. military and intelligence officials tracked the North Korean launch primarily with naval vessels equipped with Aegis radar. Ships, aircraft and satellites also were used to track the missile’s trajectory and monitor its stage-by-stage performance.
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