[Poohbah]

The DPRK announced concurrent with the 1998 launch that they'd successfully orbited a satellite. Independent verification of a satellite was never made.

Either they had their lies ready to go, or they really were trying to launch a satellite.

[Sabertooth]

Either they had their lies ready to go, or they really were trying to launch a satellite.

Right. So the question is whether the fragment is consistent with a satellite, or a warhead?

Given the timing of the announcement of this "discovery," if it's a warhead fragment, that would be a causus belli with respect to the DPRK, eliminating the need for UN involvement, should we choose to go that route.

[walkingdead]

North Korea wouldn't waste the money on sattelites. They just use that as a guise for testing their ballistic missles.

And as for this warhead, could it be from the dual stage missle they launched over Japan in the mid to late 90's? I heard the far stage hit off the coast of Alaska, maybe so as not to panic the public (and to not alert the North Koreans) the government hid the fact that it actually hit Alaska.

[cake_crumb]

"The DPRK announced concurrent with the 1998 launch that they'd successfully orbited a satellite. Independent verification of a satellite was never made."

But a gubmint conspiracy to cover up a DPRNK missile attack against the continental United States is MUCH more believable than a failed satellite launch!