Leave it to die-hard leftists to spin a communist launch failure as a success.
Posted on 07/05/2006 11:55:24 PM PDT by HAL9000
(ATTN: CORRECTS missile's flight distance from '390km' to '490km' in para 4)SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's long-range Taepodong-2 missile travelled for about 7 minutes after liftoff before it plunged into the East Sea, a top South Korean military officer said Thursday.
The North's multistage missile was initially believed to have gone down 42 seconds after it blasted off from its launching pad in the reclusive country on Wednesday, sparking questions over whether the flight was a technical failure or was aborted.
Interesting. I thought there would've been a more thank 100 km difference between 42 seconds and 7 minutes (mabye I'm interpreting the excerpt incorrectly.
Maybe a chunk of it flew off after 40 seconds, making people think that it blew up.
If it flew 7 minutes, shouldn't it have gone at least a few hundred miles downrange?
If so, it flew over Japan. And that is going to go over like a lead balloon (no pun intended).
If it flew less than 500 miles, then it might have landed in the Sea of Japan. But much more than that would have taken it over Japan.
I would not believe this without confirmation. The US watches and tracks this intently, we would probably have heard.
At this rate....I don't think Hawaii should get worried for another 200 years....LOL!
SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's long-range Taepodong-2 missile travelled for about 7 minutes after liftoff before it plunged into the East Sea, a top South Korean military officer said Thursday.The North's multistage missile was initially believed to have gone down 42 seconds after it blasted off from its launching pad in the reclusive country on Wednesday, sparking questions over whether the flight was a technical failure or was aborted.
"We judge reports that it (Taepodong-2) crashed 42 seconds after liftoff are mis-reported," Lee Sung-kyu, a top intelligence officer at South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a parliamentary committee.
"It (the missile) flew for 42 seconds without any problem and went down after travelling an additional 490km," he said. "In a normal case, it should have flown at Mach 7 for 1 minute to enter its trajectory, but it didn't reach that point."
Defying strong international warnings, North Korea test-launched seven missiles Wednesday, including a Taepodong-2 which analysts say has the potential to reach as far as the west coast of the United States.
South Korean and U.S. officials said the North's launch of the Taepodong-2 missile is believed to have been a failure, but some experts suspect the North deliberately aborted the missile test in mid-flight so as to draw the U.S. into direct talks with it.
North Korea stunned the region in 1998 by launching a Taepodong-1 rocket over Japan which landed in the Pacific Ocean. A year later, the North agreed to a moratorium on long-range missile tests.
Does this make sense to anyone? It reminds me of when I once visited China. They had an English language paper published by the government called China Daily. Totally worthless commie propaganda, but fun to read. We would joke about how they used the words "because" or "therefore". The text on either side of these words never had the kind of relationship you'd expect them to here. Funny!
The article gives distances in "km" not miles. Apparently a "km" is smaller, yet more confusing and dangerous than a mile.
So it traveled normally for 42 seconds, then it began traveling abnormally and did not reach high altitude. Very strange indeed.
South Korean and U.S. officials said the North's launch of the Taepodong-2 missile is believed to have been a failure, but some experts suspect the North deliberately aborted the missile test in mid-flight so as to draw the U.S. into direct talks with it.
That is the first explanation for N.K. behavior that does make some sense.
I know. But an ICBM should travel more than 490km in 7 minutes.
I pulled the "500 mile" figure from eyeballing a map and estimating the distance from the North Korean coastal launch site and the Japanese Islands. Wasn't citing the 490km number. Because (if true), it doesn't sound right.
Had it flew longer than 40 seconds, N.Korea would have shown proof of it by now just to discredit the US.
Apparently the missile failed at 42 sec into the flight, and its momentum careened it (or its debris) through the sky for another 7 minutes before it fell into the sea about 350 miles down range. This distance seems to fit the data.
I don't get it. The North Koreans would expect us to be more likely to negotiate after a failed test that after a successful one?
Leave it to die-hard leftists to spin a communist launch failure as a success.
First it's a million, then it's a trillion.
First it less than a minute then it was 45 seconds then it was 35 seconds now it's more than 7 MINUTES
Dang.... I was waiting for the story where it blew up 22 seconds before it even hit the launch pad.
Who to believe.....who to believe.....
Thanks. That makes more sense.
The only problem is that the article said it "flew" for seven minutes.
And John McLaughlin (Tenet's former deputy) was quoted on CNN as saying "one or two" of the missiles may have flown over Japan.
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