The Associated Press reported this evening:
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea defiantly carried out a provocative rocket launch Sunday that the U.S., Japan and other nations suspect was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology.
Liftoff took place at 11:30 a.m. (0230GMT) Sunday from the coastal Musudan-ri launch pad in northeastern North Korea, the South Korean and U.S. governments said. The multistage rocket hurtled toward the Pacific, reaching Japanese airspace within seven minutes, but no debris appeared to hit its territory, officials in Tokyo said.
The U.N. Security Council approved an emergency session for Sunday afternoon in New York, following a request from Japan that came minutes after the launch.
The South Koreans called it "reckless," the Americans "provocative," and Japan said it strongly protested the launch.
Japan made no attempts to shoot down the rocket. The first stage dropped somewhere over the Sea of Japan while the second stage dropped into the Pacific Ocean beyond Japanese airspace.
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