Graphic: North Korea successfully launches three-stage rocket

Initial studies of the rocket’s trajectory suggest that the first stage fell
into the Yellow Sea near the South Korean city of Gwangju, which has a
population of almost 1.5 million.

The second stage appears to have fallen near Jeju, an autonomous province of
South Korea home to over half a million people, and would have flown almost
directly over the Japanese city of Ishigaki, which has a population near to
50,000.

Phillippine officials confirmed this morning that debris from the rocket fell
off the northern coast of Luzon island. The National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Council said that there were no casualties and lifted a “no-fly,
no-sail and no-fishing” zone it had earlier announced.

Timeline of North Korea rocket launches

July 2006: North Korea launches 7 rockets, including a long-range
Taepodong-2 missile, which the US said disintegrated 40 seconds into its
flight. The other rockets fell into the Japanese Sea.

The UN Security Council adopted two resolutions over the next 3 months,
demanding North Korea halt their missile program and banning the country
from activities related to its nuclear weapons program.

This was North Korea’s first test of a long-range missile in 8 years, when
they launched a Taepodong-1 over northern Japan in 1998.

April 2009: Defying international warnings, North Korea launched a
three-stage rocket which flew over Japan. The first two stages fell into the
Sea of Japan to the west and east of the country, but the third stage
failed.

Despite state media announcing that they had successfully put a satellite into
orbit to transmit data along with revolutionary songs, the US North American
Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) confirmed that in fact, no satellite
managed to reach orbit.

The US, South Korea and Japan strongly condemned the launch, calling it a
cover-up for long-range missile tests. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said
North Korea’s behaviour was not conducive to regional stability.

Under Kim Jong-il, NK vowed to restart its nuclear facilities in defiance
against UN statements condemning the launch, and went on to conduct further
nuclear tests.

April 2012: After previously announcing a month earlier plans to launch
a rocket to put a scientific satellite into orbit, North Korea’s rocket
launch on 13 April failed.

Launched from the north-west of the country, the rocket flew for just over a
minute before breaking up over the Korean peninsula 105 miles west of Seoul.
The UN Security Council called the launch a breach of two Security Council
resolutions. Pyongyang admitted failure, Japan called the incident “a
regrettable development,” and Foreign Secretary William Hague said that
Pyongyang could “expect a strong response from the international
community if it continues to develop its missile and nuclear capabilities.”

The US went on to suspend its food aid plans with North Korea.

Dec 12, 2012: Officials at NORAD acknowledged that US missile detection
systems tracked an Unha-3 rocket after it was launched from the North Korean
west coast at 09:49 local time (00:49 GMT). The North Korean government said
the rocket successfully put a weather forecast satellite into polar orbit.

The US, Japan and South Korea again call the launch a disguised attempt to
test the country’s long-range missile technology. Ban Ki-moon calls the
launch a “clear violation” of the UN resolution passed in 2009.

Initial studies of the rocket’s trajectory suggest that the first stage fell
into the Yellow Sea near the South Korean city of Gwangju, which has a
population of almost 1.5 million. The second stage appears to have fallen
near Jeju, an autonomous province of South Korea home to over half a million
people, and would have flown almost directly over the Japanese city,
Ishigaki, which has a population of around 50,000.

Phillippine officials confirmed that debris from the rocket fell off the
northern coast of Luzon island. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council said that there were no casualties and lifted a “no-fly,
no-sail and no-fishing” zone it had earlier enforced.

Source:
http://www.ezonearticle.com/2012/12/12/graphic-north-korea-successfully-launches-three-stage-rocket/