North Korea, the newest member of the world's most exclusive club -- nuclear armed states, ignored President Obama's warnings and launched a long-range missile:
North Korea claimed the missile was to carry a satellite into space, but it could be a missile with a warhead attached. Regardless of whether the purpose was to launch a satellite or a nuclear warhead -- it's the same technology.
Regardless of North Korea's claims that the launch succeeded in putting a communications satellite into orbit, Officials from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Northern Command report that the North Korean rocket failed to reach orbit and fell into the Pacific Ocean:
The missile launch did succeed in what may have mattered most -- demonstrating that North Korea had the ability to launch a multistage rocket that could travel thousands of miles.