We Have Lift-Off

I didn’t think President Lee would actually go through with this. Although I’m not sure this launch is a wise move in the broader context of attempts to disarm the North Koreans — who will seize on this to justify their own banned program — it’s almost gratifying to see a South Korean president so unconcerned about what North Korea says. And while I reject most of the comparisons to the North Korean Taepodong II launch last spring, both launches no doubt had domestic political motives, and in both cases, the satellites failed to enter orbit.

Feel free to insert your own innuendo in the comments section.

South Korea isn’t banned from developing or using missile technology. The North is limited by no less than three such resolutions — 1695, 1718, and 1874 (see sidebar; scroll down).