North Korea just tested another one of their ICBMs made out of twigs and rubber bands into the air, where it quickly disintegrated and fell into the Pacific Ocean. Again. Update: Maybe it worked this time?
The Japanese government, which doesn't appreciate rockets being flung around willy nilly, is pissed—despite the fact that North Korea typicall has no idea what the hell it's doing. They say the test launch—which North Korea says was meant for peaceful, satellite-deploying purposes—passed directly over Okinawa, but no attempt to shoot it down was made.
This will increase tensions in an already tense area, lead to international condemnations, stall the peace process that could someday unite North and South Korea, and take more money out of the mouths of starving North Koreans and into a rusty log flume with which Kim Jong-un wants to spook the globe. [Al Jazeera]
(Photo above from previous failed attempt at scaring world)
Update: Contrary to earlier reports of debris in the sea, there's now word floating around that the launch might have been a success—meaning the rocket didn't fall apart, and North Korea possibly put a satellite into space.
Update 2: ABC News says the missile flew along its "expected trajectory," according to anonymous US officials.
Update 3: North Korea says it successfully put its "Bright Star-3" weather satellite into space. Emphasis placed firmly on the "North Korea says" portion—there's no independent confirmation of any of this, yet. Until someone other than a state-run mouthpiece says the launch was a success, this rocket (and its satellite) could still be sitting at the bottom of the ocean.
Update 4:US intel official told CNN that North Korea's rocket "appears to have completed all phases." It's still early in its analysis but that's the official word at the moment.