Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with The World's Matthew Bell about this weekend's reported rocket launch in North Korea. North Korea's state-run media hailed the country's satellite launch as a success. But U.S. and South Korean sources say the launch failed to put anything into orbit.
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LISA MULLINS: The state-run media in North Korea is celebrating yesterday's satellite launch as a success. The Korean Central News Agency said that Kim Jong-Il, the President of North Korea, expressed great satisfaction that the country's scientists and technicians successfully launched the satellite with their own wisdom and technology. But US and South Korean sources say the North Koreans failed to put a satellite into orbit. Nonetheless, the Obama administration is pushing for punitive action against Pyongyang in the United Nations Security Council. That's going to be difficult, though, because China and Russia appear unwilling to sign off on any new sanctions. The World's Matthew Bell is here in studio. Now, in hindsight, Matthew, technically speaking, was this launch a failure?
MATTHEW BELL: Well, it was a failure in the sense that it didn't do what the North Koreans said they wanted to do, and that is put a satellite into orbit. On the other hand, the United States for example, developed its own missile program by doing a series of tests. And it's trial and error, so every time the North Koreans test technology like this, they get presumably closer to the end goal which is to be able to launch a successful long-range rocket. This one, on paper, has a range of 4,000 miles. Now, the North Koreans say this was a satellite launch. American officials say, “There's really no difference in terms of the work you're doing to a missile launch.â€
MULLINS: Matthew, what happens in the aftermath? Is anyone trying to resurrect the pieces of this rocket that was fired to find out exactly what the intent was?
BELL: I wouldn't be surprised if the US military and its allies are doing everything from looking around the ocean for parts of the rocket itself to analyzing data that was sent from the device as it flew into the air. I talked to one expert today who said he didn't doubt if the US military actually knew more about the North Korean rocket launch than the North Koreans, just because the US has more sophisticated computer, you know, rocket satellite, et cetera, technology.
MULLINS: You mean post-launch?
BELL: Exactly.
MULLINS: How could that be? I mean, why is it that the United States would know more about that and yet the North Koreans have this expertise that they are apparently selling to other countries – Syria, Iran, and others. I mean, what is it? It seems as though there are very specific areas where the North Koreans are able to accelerate in terms of technology.
BELL: Well, remember the United States had humans walking on the moon in 1969, and North Korea has yet to even come close to launching a multi-state rocket successfully. They're apples and oranges in terms of capability. Evidently, a South Korean news report said today they estimate this thing cost $300 million dollars for the North Koreans, which would be 10 percent of the whole country's GDP.
MULLINS: Well, that brings up a good question. I mean, this is a country that is severely struck by starvation, by drought, and hurt by international isolation. Kim Jong-Il right now is turning down US food assistance. Why would he spend, is it 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product on a technology like this?
BELL: Right. That's just an estimate, but it gives you a sense of this is a very, very poor country. It has sanctions up and down the road against it. The North Koreans have never modified their behavior if they thought it might hurt their population. It's just a very, very backward economy. They've been dependent upon international aid for decades now.
MULLINS: And the gain for the North Koreans?
BELL: The gain most experts believe is to get the attention of the Obama administration. In some ways you can say that this was a propaganda success. We're here talking about this. This was a huge story over the weekend. On Sunday morning, Americans turned on their televisions and heard all kinds of news reports about this very thing while President Obama was in Europe talking about the future of nuclear nonproliferation efforts. Essentially, the North Koreans are trying to insert themselves higher on the Obama administration's agenda. This is what many experts believe – that they want a payoff. They want to sit down at the negotiation table and they want payoff in terms of more aid that comes in the form of fuel or food or economic assistance, and at the end of the day, they want more guarantees that the regime there can keep on keeping on.
MULLINS: All right. The World's Matthew Bell. Thank you.
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