hankyoreh

which borders China‘s Changbai county

When asked about the launch by reporters while heading to his New York mission office Sunday, local time, Shin Son-ho, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, said, “We are happy. Very, very successful. You should congratulate us.”　North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that Kim Jong-il expressed “great satisfaction” after watching the entire launch process Sunday. Other North Korean television stations and newspapers continued broadcasts about a “successful satellite launch” into Monday.

Sources say that although North Korea has launched its satellite, it does not have the technical means to confirm objectively whether the launch was successful since it lacks the broadband radar network ability to track the entire process from launch to entry into orbit. The United States, which possesses a global radar surveillance network, reported that the satellite failed to enter orbit.

Experts are saying that North Korea’s claims of success are motivated by domestic political concerns. Kim Yeon-cheol, Director of Hankyoreh Peace Research Institute, said that such concerns include “demonstrating the legitimacy of the system ahead of the launching of Kim Jong-il’s third term at the first meeting of the 12th Supreme People‘s Council on Thursday, and inspiring hope towards the building of a ‘strong and prosperous nation’ by 2012.” North Korean media have directly linked the satellite launch to building internal unity, for example announcing that “the success of this satellite launch greatly inspires our people during a turbulent time” and is an act of “throwing open the doors.”

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