US: NKorea missile launch is 'provocative act'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House was quick to condemn North Korea's successful launch of a long-range rocket, calling it a "highly provocative act" that threatens regional security.

Tuesday's launch, which caught the world by surprise, apparently placed an object in Earth orbit, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said, but neither the missile nor debris from the launch posed a threat to North America.

The launch directly violated U.N. Security Council resolutions and contravened North Korea's international obligations, the White House said in a terse statement that labeled the launch "a highly provocative act."


Be interested to see what will be done after this violation. The UN will likely do nothing. I dunno what anyone really can do. Those people are already starving over there (eating grass) and we most likely arent going to go to war, so....

One would be crazy to go to war with N. Korea. They are dug in like wood ticks.

What is there to do? I've heard talk about more sanctions, however I'm not sure what is left to go after. The best we could hope to do is get the Chinese to put some pressure on them (the usual slap on the wrist the Chinese give them when they're too far out of line), but I really don't see what even that would accomplish.

While we and out S. Korean allies could certainly whip the N. Koreans in a war, it would come with a heavy cost to the S. Korean and likely Japanese people (Soul isn't all that far from the border). Marcs point is well noted.

I dunno what anyone could do either. More sanctions likely wont do anything. (Ive never liked sanctions anyway). What can China do...and do we really want to have to go to China yet again and beg them for help?

The only alternative that I can see is (a) do nothing, or (b) go to war. Neither sounds like a good choice.

I hate to say this, but what about surgical target strikes(ie sanctioned assassinations).

Would cutting the heads off of the serpents embedded in N Korea do any good???

I do not know the answer to that question.