North Korean Rocket Launch

Hours ago, North Korea launched a multi-stage rocket. The first stage fell into the Sea of Japan, while the rest overflew Japan and crashed into the Pacific.

That's about all we know for certain.

North Korea says it was a space launch, meant to deliver a satellite to orbit. In that case, the effort seems to have failed. The United States and others, however, see the launch as a test of an ICBM that could threaten Alaska, Hawaii, and possibly even the North American west coast south of Alaska. Clearly, Japan is within range. President Obama called the launch "a provocation." If it was an ICBM test, the fact that it seems to have been less than perfect is not necessarily good news. A lot seems to have gone right, and engineers learn from failures.

Exactly where the world will go from here is uncertain. Sanctioning a nation that already lives largely in its own little world may be of limited use. A military strike to prevent the next launch could reignite the Korean War, with disastrous consequences. Allowing North Korea to mate nuclear bombs to missiles of appreciable range, however, would seem to be a bad idea. Allowing North Korea to sell its dangerous expertise to whoever has the money may be an even worse idea.

President Obama and the rest of the world may have been handed yet another situation that could go very bad very quickly if not handled carefully and competently.