North Korean rocket puts object into space, angers neighbors, US

North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Feb. 7 carrying what it called a satellite, but its neighbors and the United States denounced the launch as a missile test, conducted in defiance of U.N. sanctions and just weeks after a nuclear bomb test.

The U.S. Strategic Command said it had detected a missile entering space, and South Korea's military said the rocket had put an object into orbit. 

North Korea said the launch of the satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, named after late leader Kim Jong Il, was a "complete success" and it was making a polar orbit of Earth every 94 minutes. The launch order was given by his son, leader Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be 33 years old. 

The launch prompted South Korea to announce it would begin talks with the United States on the deployment of an advanced missile defence, which China and Russia both oppose, to counter what South Korea sees as the North's threat. 

North Korea's state news agency carried a still picture of a white rocket that closely resembled a previously launched rocket, lifting off. Another showed Kim surrounded by cheering military officials at what appeared to be a command centre. 

North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in 2012, put what it called a communications satellite into orbit, but no signal has ever been detected from it. 

"If it can communicate with the Kwangmyongsong-4, North Korea will learn about operating a satellite in space," said David Wright, co-director and senior scientist at the Global Security Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

"Even if not, it gained experience with launching and learned more about the reliability of its rocket systems." 

The rocket lifted off at around 9:30 a.m. Seoul time (0030 GMT) on...