World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[ManilaBoy45]

Typhoon BOPHA to hit Scarborough Shoal ...

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[airsuperiority]

I guess Psy's 15 minutes are up sooner than expected.

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Probably trying to gain some reader's popularity by lashing out on an Asian celebrity by coining Americanism.. Same tricks, but not on China this time.

 

[AssassinsMace]

Probably trying to gain some reader's popularity by lashing out on an Asian celebrity by coining Americanism.. Same tricks, but not on China this time.

It's interesting how Obama is still attending an event where Psy is preforming I believe it's this weekend. If you've seen the South Korean public's reaction, they're getting a huge head because of Psy's popularity in the West. I heard one South Korean say this makes them number one in Asia. I think Obama is not trying to offend South Korea as much as possible. Just like they don't criticize South Korea's growing business with Iran. So you know there's probably something behind the scenes and bigger Obama wants from South Korea.

 

[airsuperiority]

It's interesting how Obama is still attending an event where Psy is preforming I believe it's this weekend. If you've seen the South Korean public's reaction, they're getting a huge head because of Psy's popularity in the West. I heard one South Korean say this makes them number one in Asia. I think Obama is not trying to offend South Korea as much as possible. Just like they don't criticize South Korea's growing business with Iran. So you know there's probably something behind the scenes and bigger Obama wants from South Korea.

Anything related to US-Korea can only be either China or North Korea, and involves US military presence. Either way, I won't be surprised if SK gets enough of US not long from now and kicks them out. Only Japan is foolish enough to have American troops on its soil to continue harassing its people. If not for the North Koreans, the US won't have legit business to be in Asia

 

[Franklin]

Russia arms Syria with powerful ballistic missiles

Hours after NATO agreed on Tuesday to send Patriot missiles to Turkey because of the crisis in Syria, Russia delivered its first shipment of Iskander missiles to Syria.

The superior Iskander can travel at hypersonic speed of over 1.3 miles per second (Mach 6-7) and has a range of over 280 miles with pinpoint accuracy of destroying targets with its 1,500-pound warhead, a nightmare for any missile defense system.

According to Mashregh, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard media outlet, Russia had warned Turkey not to escalate the situation, but with Turkey’s request for Patriot missiles, it delivered its first shipment of Iskanders to Syria.

Reporting today, Mashregh said the handover occurred when Russian naval logistic vessels docked at Tartus in Syria.

The Iskandar is a surface-to-surface missile that no missile defense system can trace or destroy, Mashregh said. Russia had earlier threatened that should America put its missile defense system in Poland, it would retaliate by placing its Iskander missiles at Kaliningrad, its Baltic Sea port.

Russia’s delivery of Iskanders to Bashar Assad’s embattled regime clearly shows that the security and stability of Syria remains Russia’s red line, Mashregh said. It is unknown how many of these missiles have been delivered but the numbers given are sufficient to destroy any Patriot missiles in Turkey, it said.

The delivery of the missile not only threatens the security of Turkey but also Israel, which would have to recalculate its strategy with its defensive and offensive capabilities.

As reported in a WND exclusive on Dec. 5, Iran’s Islamic regime also sees the toppling of the Assad regime as its red line and has 170 ballistic missiles targeting Tel Aviv in underground missile silos, some with biological warheads.

In August, a commentary in Mashregh, representing the regime’s views, warned America and Israel that further instability in Syria would spark a pre-emptive attack on Israel in which the use of weapons of mass destruction – biological, chemical and even nuclear bombs – won’t be off the table. It stated that certain groups (proxies, such as Hezbollah) have been armed with WMDs and that Israel will be their target.

The Mashregh commentary charged that Israel is one of the conspirators behind the Syrian crisis in order to strategically change the geopolitics of the region and defeat one of the main players in the Islamic world’s “resistance front” (Iran, Syria and Hezbollah). It warned Israel that with the direction it has chosen, “There is a dead end, and the threat of mass killing awaits.”

The Islamic regime in Iran for its part continues to ship arms to Syria via Iraq both by air and ground while its Quds Forces help the Assad regime in killing its own people. To date, over 40,000 people, including many women and children, have died since the Syrian uprising began in March of 2011.

Reports indicate that Assad has decided to use chemical weapons on his own people as a last attempt to save his rule. Speaking in Prague on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Syria that the use of chemical weapons would be a red line, indicating that America would retaliate.

Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered the Guards and its Quds Forces to use all of their capabilities to protect Assad and has threatened war against those helping the rebels in Syria, primarily Saudi Arabia and Turkey, according to a source who had served in the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit but who has since defected.

The source added that the recent Gaza conflict was a warning to America and Israel that the Islamic regime in Iran can destabilize the region further should the push in Syria continue to topple Assad. The region will witness terrorist attacks, assassinations and incitement for uprisings in countries allied with America as the situation in Syria further deteriorates, the regime has promised, according to the source.

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[delft]

go ahead and comment away mace..but be nice. In the news threads lets wave that comment rule. But in the military threads we shall keep the old rule in play.

Hey delft..do you have any further news on this sinking??

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Lack of time prevented me following most of the threads among them this one. I'm sorry.
I just heard Dutch radio news say that six men of the sunken ship have not yet been found. The ship was a car carrier, a very large box with plenty of air around the five thousand BMW's so when she was hit she filled very fast. A similar accident near Dover a few years ago let to the sinking of the car carrier Tricolore. She was broken up where she lay and the expectation is that the same will happen this time.
The traffic in the southern North Sea is very busy and with many ports in the area in England, Belgium and The Netherlands there are many crossing routes. Also there is no traffic control as there is for aircraft. Perhaps this accident will lead to such a service.
Another ship is in trouble because she got a chain round her screw and is now drifting. We'll see tomorrow what happened.

 

[bd popeye]

Thanks for your insight delft!

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NEW BATAAN, Philippines (AP) — The number of people missing after a typhoon devastated the Philippines jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea, officials said.

The fishermen from southern General Santos city and nearby Sarangani province left a few days before Typhoon Bopha hit the main southern island of Mindanao on Tuesday, Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos said. The death toll has already surpassed 600, mostly from flash floods that wiped away precarious communities in the southern region unaccustomed to typhoons.

Ramos said the fishermen were headed to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and to the Pacific Ocean. Coast guard, navy and fishing vessels are searching for them, and some may have sought shelter on the many small islands in the area.

"Maybe they are still alive," Ramos said Sunday.

Bopha was dissipating finally in the South China Sea after briefly veering back toward the country's northwest on Saturday, prompting worries of more devastation.

Rescuers were searching for bodies or signs of life under tons of fallen trees and boulders in the worst-hit town of New Bataan, where rocks, mud and other rubble destroyed landmarks, making it doubly difficult to search places where houses once stood.

Hundreds of refugees, rescuers and aid workers took a break Sunday to watch the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez fight on a big TV screen, only to be dismayed by their hero's sixth-round knockout.

Elementary school teacher Constancio Olivar said people fell silent when Pacquiao, a congressman who comes from the southern Philippines where the storm hit, fell heavily to the canvas and remained motionless for some time.

"It was like a double blow for me — this disaster and this defeat," said Olivar, whose house was destroyed in the storm. "We were all crestfallen. Everyone fell silent, stunned. It was like we saw a tsunami."

Nearly 400,000 people, mostly from Compostela Valley and nearby Davao Oriental province, have lost their homes and are crowded inside evacuation centers or staying with relatives.

President Benigno Aquino III has declared a national calamity, which allows for price controls on basic commodities in typhoon-affected areas and the quick release of emergency funds.

Officials said Sunday that 316 people were killed in Compostela Valley, including 165 in New Bataan, and 301 in Davao Oriental. More than 45 people were killed elsewhere. Nearly 900 are missing, including the fishermen and 440 from New Bataan alone.

Davao Oriental authorities imposed a curfew there and ordered police to guard stores and shops to prevent looting.

The typhoon destroyed about 18 percent of the banana plantations in Mindanao, causing losses estimated at 12 billion pesos ($300 million), according to Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association.

The Philippines is the world's third-largest banana producer and exporter, supplying international brands such as Dole, Chiquita and Del Monte.

 

[SampanViking]

Very sad news announced yesterday with the death of Sir Patrick Moore yesterday
He was a leading proponent of amateur astronomy and had broadcast his monthly programme "The Sky at Night", solidly for 55 years. I watched his final episode only last week and noted that he seemed more quiet and frail than was usual.
More than simply a presenter, he was active as a promoter of the science world wide and up until recent years spent much of his time giving talks around the country and supporting local astronomical groups and associations.
He was of course also a true old fashioned British eccentric, and a live wire character. It is noteworthy to read so many comments in memoriam from professional astronomers and physicists, all saying that it was Patrick, through his books programmes or talks, that got them interested in the subject as children.

He was also a family friend, well known to many of my relatives who were involved in local societies. I had met him on several occasions and had many of his books.
More than that though, was simply his monthly presence since childhood, as this dignified avuncular, who's company on the first Sunday evening of the month I have always eagerly anticipated and who I will now sorely miss.

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[delft]

Wrt the ship mentioned in my previous posting: Her name is Ocean Victory ( lenght 170 m., 500' ) ( what a ridiculous name ) and she sailed over a buoy and wound its anchor chain round her screw. She ended up anchored 2.5 km ( 1.5 mi. ) from the beach near IJmuiden. Tugs will take her into IJmuiden tomorrow.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

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Egypt crisis: Morsi gives army arrest powers before vote
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has ordered the military to maintain security and protect state institutions in the run-up to a controversial referendum on a new constitution.
The army has also been given the power to arrest civilians.
Mr Morsi has tried to calm public anger by annulling a decree giving him huge powers, but rejected a call to scrap the 15 December constitutional vote.
Opposition leaders called for protests on Tuesday against the referendum.
The opposition was "not aiming at toppling the president" but wanted a better constitution, former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa told the BBC.
Islamist groups have said they will hold counter demonstrations, raising fears of further bloody clashes on the streets of the Egyptian capital.
In another apparent concession, the president suspended a big tax increase on the sale of a variety of goods including soft drinks, cigarettes and beer.
The decision was carried in a statement that appeared on Mr Morsi's Facebook page in the early hours of Monday, state-owned al-Ahram newspaper reported.
Weakened police
As tension increased before Saturday's referendum, Mr Morsi ordered the military to maintain security "up to the announcement of the results from the referendum", AFP news agency reports.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says the step will raise fears that Egypt is moving back towards military rule.
Under the new presidential decree, the military is asked to co-ordinate with the police on maintaining security and is also entitled to arrest civilians.
The police have been seen as weakened since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak and failed to intervene when anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters ransacked the Islamist movement's Cairo headquarters last week, correspondents say.
An increased military presence was visible on Monday close to the presidential palace, which has been the focus of opposition demonstrations. The army has sealed off the area with concrete blocks.
It is not yet clear whether the opposition will boycott Saturday's referendum. However, a group of senior judges announced on Monday that they would be prepared to oversee the vote, on certain conditions.
Votes in Egypt are traditionally supervised by the judiciary but the 22 November presidential decree led thousands of judges to go on strike.
Now, with the decree rescinded, the State Council Judges' Club has agreed to oversee the vote as long as pro-Morsi supporters call a halt to a sit-in outside Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court.
The court suspended work on 2 December, citing "psychological pressure" from Islamists who had prevented a meeting on a draft of the new constitution. The protesters had wanted to block a ruling on the legality of the document.
'Division and sedition'
The opposition argues that the constitution was drafted by an assembly dominated by Mohammed Morsi's Islamist allies.
In a statement after talks on Sunday, the opposition National Salvation Front said it would not recognise the draft constitution "because it does not represent the Egyptian people".
"We reject the referendum which will certainly lead to more division and sedition," spokesman Sameh Ashour said.
In a BBC interview, one of the Front's main leaders, Amr Moussa, insisted they were not "aiming at doing anything that would lead to the disintegration of the state".
"Why should we make the people swallow a constitution that could have been much better and should have been much better?"
On Sunday, hundreds of opposition protesters protested against the referendum outside the presidential palace.
They chanted anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans and held up banners reading slogans such as "Morsi, hold back your thugs" and "The people demand the fall of the regime".
But Mohamed Soudan, foreign relations secretary of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said Mr Morsi was constitutionally bound to go ahead with the vote because the date had been announced by the constituent assembly.
The president says he is trying to safeguard the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak last year, but his critics accuse him of acting like a dictator.
Mr Morsi's decree of 22 November stripped the judiciary of any right to challenge his decisions and triggered violent protests.
Although the decree has been annulled, some decisions taken under it still stand.
The general prosecutor, who was dismissed, will not be reinstated, and the retrial of former regime officials will go ahead.

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Syria rebels overrun Aleppo military base
Rebel fighters are reported to have captured large parts of a big military base in northern Syria, the latest in a string of losses by government forces.
The attack on Base 111 at Sheikh Suleiman, about 25km (15 miles) west of the city of Aleppo, on Sunday, was said to have been led by Islamist militants.
Video posted online showed them seizing military vehicles, including a tank.
The assault came as UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said he had held "constructive" talks with US and Russian officials.
They had "explored avenues to move forward a peaceful process and mobilise greater international action in favour of a political solution", the Algerian diplomat added.
"All three parties re-affirmed their common assessment that the situation in Syria was bad and getting worse. They stressed that a political process to end the crisis in Syria was necessary and still possible."
They reportedly agreed that a solution would be based on the core elements of the final communique issued on 30 June after international talks in Geneva which called for a transitional government.
On Monday, Russia's foreign ministry called for the start of a national dialogue, but stressed that "fundamental decisions" had to be "made by Syrians themselves, without outside interference".
Black flags
Rebel forces are said to have entered Base 111, whose headquarters are in Sheikh Suleiman, on Sunday afternoon after weeks of fighting.
The videos posted online showed rebels driving around in a captured tank and manning anti-aircraft guns. They also showed the rebels sporting the insignia and black flags of radical jihadist militants.
A journalist for AFP news agency on the ground said many of them were from abroad, and that the attack had been led by the al-Nusra Front and related groups.
The rebel Free Syrian Army was not involved in the assault, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the sprawling base was the only significant government facility remaining in a broad stretch of countryside west of Aleppo.
Last month, the rebels captured another large base nearby at Atarib.
In Aleppo itself, rebels are still in control of at least half the city, despite attempts by government forces to dislodge them.
There too, jihadist groups are reported to have largely displaced the FSA, highlighting the dilemma of Western countries as they ponder whether to allow sophisticated weapons to pass to the opposition, our correspondent adds.
On Monday, government warplanes reportedly bombed suburbs of the capital, Damascus, amid fierce clashes in the surrounding countryside.
A jet carried out an air raid on the western suburb of Darayya as rebels and soldiers fought, while artillery bombed nearby Muadhamiya, the SOHR said. Towns and villages to the east were also bombarded.

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Romania election: Victor Ponta's ruling coalition wins
The centre-left coalition of Prime Minister Victor Ponta has swept to victory in Romania's general election.
The Social Liberal Union (USL) won nearly 60% of the vote, with four-fifths of ballots counted.
The Right Romania Alliance (ARD) of centre-right President Traian Basescu came a distant second with about 17%.
The result could open the door to a constitutional crisis, as the president has previously hinted he may refuse to reappoint his arch-rival Mr Ponta.
Mr Ponta said: "This is a clear victory with an absolute majority."
But, if he resumes as prime minister, he will have to share power with Mr Basescu, whose term runs until 2014.
The pair have been locked in a power struggle since Mr Ponta came to power in April following the collapse of the previous centre-right government.
Vanity
The two men have argued over control of state television and the Romanian Cultural Institute and attempts to draw up a new electoral law.
But, says the BBC's correspondent in the region Nick Thorpe, the political feud often seems to have more to do with the vanity of the main players than with genuine differences in policy.
Their antagonism has meant political decision-making has at times been paralysed.
In July, Mr Ponta suspended Mr Basescu and tried to impeach him. But a referendum failed to meet the required turnout.
Mr Basescu hinted before the election that he might refuse to re-appoint Mr Ponta as prime minister. He has described him as a "mythomaniac".
Mr Basescu's popularity has plummeted since he introduced stringent austerity measures and a 25% cut in public sector pay.
Romania is the second poorest member of the European Union, which it joined in 2007 with Bulgaria.
The country, together with neighbour Bulgaria, are under special EU monitoring because of concerns about judicial independence, corruption and political influence in state institutions.
Romania is trying to negotiate a new loan from the IMF to replace the existing one which expires early next year

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EU collects Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo
The presidents of the EU's three main institutions have collected the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway's capital Oslo.
The EU was awarded the prize for its role in uniting the continent after two world wars.
At the ceremony there was applause when the leaders of France and Germany stood up, holding hands.
Critics say the award is inappropriate. They point out that the eurozone crisis has exposed deep divisions in the 27-nation bloc.
Most of Europe's national leaders were at the event, but not the UK's David Cameron.
The British prime minister's deputy, Nick Clegg - a longstanding advocate of the European project - represented the UK at the ceremony.
Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told the audience that in the current economic crisis "the political framework in which the union is rooted is more important than ever".
"We must stand together, we have collective responsibility," he said, warning of a risk of new nationalism in Europe.
The prize was received jointly by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Martin Schulz. Mr Van Rompuy and Mr Barroso then gave a joint acceptance speech, in two parts.
Mr Van Rompuy paid tribute to the post-war leaders of France and Germany who had forged the EU by uniting their economic interests.
He praised "the EU's secret weapon - an unrivalled way of binding our interests so tightly that war becomes impossible".
"It is better to fight around the table than on a battlefield," he said, quoting Jean Monnet, one of the EU's founders.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel sat next to French President Francois Hollande at the ceremony in Oslo City Hall.
'Ich bin ein Europaer'
Mr Van Rompuy said the economic crisis was fuelling "the return of long-forgotten faultlines and stereotypes", but added: "Even such tensions don't take us back to the darkness of the past."
He ended by adapting the famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" quote from the late US President John F Kennedy during the Cold War.
He said he hoped future generations would "say with pride 'Ich bin ein Europaer', 'Je suis fier d'etre Europeen', 'I'm proud to be European'".
Four young Europeans, selected through an open EU competition, were in the delegation with equal status alongside the politicians.
The European Commission, which drafts EU laws, says the Nobel Prize money - about 930,000 euros (£755,000; $1.2m) - "will be allocated to children that are most in need".
The BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris says there has been a barrage of criticism - from Eurosceptics, peace activists and former winners of the prize.
Many of them question whether the EU should be given such an honour at a time when record unemployment and tough austerity policies, supported by European institutions, are causing serious social tensions in several member states.

Incidentally I am not on the list this year but was assured of next year since they seem to be just giving them out now.

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NZ quake collapse building design 'deficient'
A building that collapsed in New Zealand's Christchurch earthquake, killing 115, was badly designed and should not have been approved.
The report from the Royal Commission said the engineer who designed the Canterbury Television (CTV) building was working "beyond his competence".
His overseer took a hands-off approach and did not review structural details of the project, it found.
Prime Minister John Key described the report as "grim" reading.
'Little comfort'
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission released the third and final part of its report after more than two months of hearings focusing on the CTV building.
It concluded that the six-storey structure collapsed within 10-20 seconds of the onset of the magnitude 6.3 earthquake on 22 February 2011.
Almost two-thirds of the 185 people who died in the natural disaster were inside the CTV building.
"The engineering design of the building was deficient in a number of respects," it found.
"While there were elements of the applicable codes that were confusing, a building permit should not have been issued for the building as designed."
The report said that the overseer should have realised that the design pushed the engineer "beyond his limits given his past experience".
"The design process led to a building that was under-engineered in a number of important respects," it said.
A number of construction defects had also been identified, the report said, adding that the construction manager "did not spend sufficient time on the site to perform his role adequately".
In its report the commission gave six specific reasons for the collapse, five of which related to the design or construction of the building. The sixth was the intensity of the quake itself.
It also said that post-quake assessment procedures should be improved, highlighting the fact that the CTV building was approved for use after the September 2010 earthquake without being examined on a structural level.
In a statement, Prime Minister John Key said that the commission's report made for "grim and sobering reading".
"We recognise this news will be of little comfort to the friends and families of the 115 people who lost their lives in the CTV building on that fateful day," he said.
Describing the commission's full seven-volume report as "incredibly complex", he said the government would take the time needed to consider the recommendations and "expects to issue its full and comprehensive response by early to mid-2013".

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10 December 2012 Last updated at 07:30 ET
China's export growth weaker than expected

By Andrew Walker
BBC World Service Economics correspondent
China's export growth came in below market expectations in November as global demand remained subdued.
Exports grew 2.9% and imports were flat compared to the previous year. Analysts were expecting exports to jump 9%.
The trade data creates some uncertainty about China's economic outlook.
It contrasts with data released at the weekend which signalled a rebound in the Chinese economy, as factory output and retail sales jumped to eight-month highs.
The weak figures on exports are a reminder - if one were needed - that China remains exposed to the problems in Europe, the United States and Japan. If they perform badly, China's exports will suffer.
But those other recent figures suggest the slowdown may be just about over.
The most recent industrial output data was rather stronger than expected. It showed a rise of 10.1% in November from a year earlier. Retail sales were also stronger, at 14.9%.
Two-speed economy?
So the latest batch of figures seem to be giving different messages. That may be partly because of the contrast between problems in export markets and a stronger domestic economy.
It is also to be expected that when an economy is at a turning point, different data will point in different directions - some will be upbeat some not.
Zhang Zhiwei of Nomura in Hong Kong, for example, says the disappointing trade news does not change his view that China is on track for a strong recovery in the final quarter of this year because he says growth "is mostly domestically driven".
But in London, Capital Economics takes more of a glass half empty view.
In a note, the consultancy says "trade data have added to our doubts about the sustainability of China's rebound".
Their concern is that the signs of improvement have been driven by "infrastructure spending and little else".
These divergent views do illustrate one of the biggest questions about the Chinese economy; how quickly can it shift its dependence from exports to Chinese consumers.
With the largest developed economies still relatively becalmed that really does matter for China and for all the raw materials and components suppliers who feed Chinese industry.
Slowdown
China's economic growth, seen by many as a key driver of the global recovery, slowed to a three-year low of 7.4% in the third quarter.
Weak export growth and little improvement in domestic demand were two of the main factors.
The People's Bank of China has cut interest rates in both June and July and lowered the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve in an effort to boost lending.
Now, a slew of data has shown glimpses of a recovery and prompted analysts to predict the worst is over.

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10 December 2012 Last updated at 03:05 ET
North Korea extends rocket launch window
North Korea has said it is extending the window for it latest rocket launch by a week because of a "technical deficiency" in an engine module.
The rocket had been due to be put into space between 10-22 December. State news agency KCNA now says that period has been lengthened until 29 December.
North Korea says it plans to put a satellite into space.
But the US says the launch constitutes a test of long-range missile technology banned under UN resolutions.
Both the US and North Korea's neighbours have urged it not to go ahead with the launch - its second this year.
The US has moved navy ships into position to track the rocket, which is expected to fly south and pass to the east of the Philippines.
Japan has also deployed ships and land-based missile defences, and on Friday issued an order to its military to shoot down any rocket debris that infringed its territory.
In a statement, an unidentified spokesman for the Korean Committee of Space Technology said experts had found a "technical deficiency in the first-stage control engine module of the rocket", KCNA reported, without elaborating.
Technicians were "pushing forward" with final preparations for the launch, it said.
The launch period includes two key dates - 17 December marks the first anniversary of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and 19 December is when South Korea's presidential election takes place.
North Korea's last launch, in April 2012, resulted in failure, with the rocket breaking up after flying for a brief period.
It has not yet successfully launched a three-stage rocket, despite four attempts since 1998.
The US and its allies say the rocket launches represent banned tests of ballistic missile technology because the basic technology is the same.
North Korea is believed to be working on the development of a long-range missile capable of reaching the west coast of the US mainland.

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10 December 2012 Last updated at 12:11 ET
Ghana election: NPP considers challenge to John Mahama win
Ghana's main opposition party says it is considering legal action to annul President John Mahama's victory in Friday's fiercely contested election.
NPP chairman Jake Obetsebi Lamptey told the BBC it would decide on Tuesday whether there was "robust" evidence to prove the result had been manipulated.
The election commission said Mr Mahama had secured 50.7% of votes, compared to NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo's 47.7%.
Ghana is regarded as one of Africa's most stable democracies.
African Union (AU) commission chairman, Benin's President Thomas Yayi Boni, has flown to Ghana for talks with Mr Mahama and Mr Akufo-Addo, Ghana's privately-owned Joy FM radio station reports on its website.
The AU and other observers have declared the election free and fair.
Mr Lamptey told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the election has been marred by "widespread abuse" and the result had been "manipulated" in Mr Mahama's favour.
He said the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) top leadership body, the national executive committee, would meet on Tuesday to consider its options.
"They will hear from lawyers about whether the evidence is robust enough to go to the Supreme Court with.... They will then make a decision on what the next step should be," Mr Lamptey said.
Electoral commission chairman Kwado Afari-Gyan said the NPP had failed to offer proof to support its allegations.
It could challenge the result in court if it wanted to, he said.
After talks with Mr Mahama, Mr Boni said he hoped that the opposition's allegations of fraud would not trigger violence and the dispute would be resolved through legal channels, Joy FM reports.
Mr Boni is still due to meet Mr Akufo-Addo, Joy FM reports.
Mr Lamptey told the BBC the NPP would not resort to violence to overturn the result.
"You don't improve democratic practise by burning the country," he said.
'Discrediting democracy'
The election was also declared free and fair by the regional body, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) and a local group, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (Codeo).
"There were hiccups but not such that would grossly undermine the result of the election," said former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who led the Ecowas observer team to Ghana, AP news agency reports.
In a statement, Codeo said the result was a "generally accurate reflection" of the support for Mr Mahama and Mr Akufo-Addo.
"Codeo advises all the presidential election contestants and their supporters as well as the general public to place confidence in the electoral commission's official presidential election results," it said.
In his first address after being declared the winner, President Mahama urged "all leaders of all political parties to respect the voice of the people".
He added: "The voice of the people is the voice of God."
Police in the capital Accra fired tear gas to disperse opposition protesters from outside the electoral commission's offices on Sunday evening.
Tanks guarded the electoral commission and roads around the offices were barricaded by police as the results were announced.
The turnout had been about 80%, the commission said.
The NPP rejected the results soon after they were released.
"To accept this result is to discredit democracy in Ghana and, in the process, distort the process of democratisation in Africa," the NPP said.
"The ruling NDC conspired with certain EC staff in constituencies across the country to falsify the election results and thereby abuse the mandate of the people of Ghana," the party said.
The party said in a statement on its website that in the northern Savelugu constituency, 31,165 votes had been "falsely declared" for Mr Mahama when he had, in fact, obtained 21,165 votes.
In another case, 15,000 votes were "illegally added" to Mr Mahama's tally in Greater Accra's Dome Kwabenya constituency, it said.
Mr Mahama's presidential adviser Tony Aidoo said the accusations were baseless.
Mr Akufo-Addo lost the 2008 presidential poll by one percentage point, but accepted the result.
Glitches with a new biometric finger-printing system meant that voting continued into Saturday in some parts of the country.
Mr Mahama was Ghana's vice-president until the unexpected death of President John Atta Mills in July catapulted him into office.

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10 December 2012 Last updated at 10:08 ET
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez in Cuba for more cancer surgery
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has arrived in Cuba for more cancer surgery, after speaking openly for the first time about a possible successor.
He was welcomed by his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro, at the airport in the capital, Havana, state media report.
At the weekend, Mr Chavez named Vice-President Nicolas Maduro as his choice to replace him should anything happen.
This will be his fourth operation in 18 months.
Mr Chavez had returned from cancer-related treatment in Cuba on Friday.
He left again from Caracas early on Monday after being granted permission by the National Assembly to leave the country for treatment.
Successor nominated
In a televised address on Saturday, the president said tests undertaken during his stay had detected more cancerous cells and that he needed surgery.
"With God's will, like on the previous occasions, we will come out of this victorious," he said.
But he acknowledged the seriousness of the situation. "There are risks, Who can deny it?" he said.
Mr Chavez said that if his health failed and a new election had to be held, his supporters should vote for Nicolas Maduro.
Mr Maduro, a former bus driver, is one of the president's closest advisers.
"He is a complete revolutionary, a man of great experience despite his youth, with great dedication and capacity for work," Mr Chavez said.
The president's supporters took to the streets following his announcement to pray for him.
"We're all here for him and always will be," one woman told BBC Mundo in Caracas.
"I'm so moved by the news about my president. We love Hugo Chavez, the people need him," said another.
Mr Chavez had surgery for an unspecified type of cancer in the pelvic region after his diagnosis in June 2011, and then had another bout of surgery last February along with chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
He declared himself free of cancer in May.
But speculation has been rife that the cancer had returned, prompting the opposition to call for greater transparency about the state of the president's health.
Mr Chavez, who was elected in October for a fourth time, is due to begin his new six-year term in office on 10 January.
The constitution states that should the president leave office in the first four years of his term then an election must be held within 30 days.

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10 December 2012 Last updated at 12:45 ET
Jenni Rivera, Latin music star, dies in plane crash
Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera has died in a plane crash in northern Mexico, her father has confirmed.
Pedro Rivera, flanked by his two sons, told Mexican TV that his 43-year-old daughter and six others on board the plane, including two pilots, had died.
Officials have confirmed Rivera was killed when the Learjet 25 went down on Sunday in Nuevo Leon state.
She was born in California in 1969 to Mexican parents, sold more than 15m records of norteno and banda music.
She was a judge in the popular television programme La Voz, Mexico's version of The Voice.
Marriage troubles
"Everyone was lost," Mr Rivera told Telemundo television.
Civil aviation chief Alejandro Argudin told Mexican media that the plane had been "totally destroyed" and the wreckage scattered over a wide area.
Transportation and Communications Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza said there was "nothing recognisable, neither material nor human" in the wreckage, adding that debris was scattered across a distance of up to 300m (984ft).
A damaged California driver's licence with Rivera's name and photograph was found among the wreckage.
A US aviation investigation board confirmed on Monday that she had died on board the plane.
It was not clear what caused the crash.
Rivera, known as the "diva de la banda", had performed in the northern city of Monterrey on Saturday.
Although Rivera sang about drug trafficking, most of her music was about her misfortunes in love.
She was travelling to the city of Toluca, outside Mexico City, when the plane disappeared, officials said.
A spokesman for Nuevo Leon's government said the plane had left Monterrey in the early hours of Sunday and aviation authorities lost contact with it about 10 minutes later.
It had been scheduled to arrive in Toluca about an hour later.
'Ugly things happen'
Rivera was at the peak of her career and was especially well loved by her fans for the way she talked openly about her troubles, correspondents say.
She recently divorced her third husband, Esteban Loaiza, a professional baseball player who has played for the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On Saturday, Rivera said of her divorce: "I can't get caught up in the negative because that destroys you. Perhaps trying to move away from my problems and focus on the positive is the best I can do.
"I am a woman like any other and ugly things happen to me like any other woman. The number of times I have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up."
Two of her brothers, Lupillo and Juan Rivera, are also successful singers of grupero music.
She also apologised publicly after one of her brothers assaulted a drunk fan who verbally abused Rivera in 2011.
"I am the same as the public, as my fans," Rivera said in an interview with the Associated Press in March.
In 2009, she was taken into custody at Mexico City airport after authorities found she was carrying $52,167 (£32,000) in cash, but had only declared $20,000.
Authorities released the singer when she said it was an innocent mistake.
"She was the Diana Ross of Mexican music," Gustavo Lopez from Universal Music Latin Entertainment, which includes Rivera's music label, told the Los Angeles Times.
He said that she was the top-grossing female artist in Mexico, based on ticket sales.
She emerged on the music scene in 1995 with her successful first album Chacalosa.
Rivera subsequently released the albums We are Rivera, and Farewell to Selena - a tribute album to Selena Quintanillas, a Hispanic singer who was murdered in 1995.
But she gained widespread fame after joining Fonovisa and the release of a 2005 LP called Partier, Rebellious and Daring.
Fans and fellow music stars expressed their grief at the news.
"This is sad. A bit in shock. Much peace to her family," singer Ricky Martin wrote in Spanish on Twitter.
Rivera was believed to have been travelling with her publicist, lawyer and stylists.
She leaves five children and two grandchildren.