hello there. welcome to "newsline." it is friday, april 13th, 9:00 a.m. in toke knroe. i'm kathryn toeb yaucatherine k. they tried to launch a missile within the last few hours but the launch appears to have failed. at a news conference in tokyo, the defense minister indicated that the north korean launch may have failed.

>> at a separate news conference, government officials told reporters that the projectile was headed south. they added that it may have separated into several pieces. meanwhile, the japanese government officials told nhk that the u.s. army detected a heat signature around the launch pad in north korea. but they have not found any corresponding evidence of a flight route. the officials say north korea may have failed to launch the missile or the heat reaction may have been misdetected. abc news in the u.s. quoted government officials who said 90 seconds after the launch the rocket exploded and fell into the ocean. now people along what would have been the flight path are keeping their eyes on the sky once again. south korea's peninsula was one of the first points along that path. nhk world's anna jung is there.

anna? >> reporter: south korea's defense ministry held a press conference. officials there confirmed that the north has launched a missile. >> reporter: the spokesperson says south korean and u.s. military analysts are looking into what happened. president lee myung-bak is convening a meeting of senior ministers at this hour. they are expected to discuss what to do about the launch. experts had calculated the first booster would drop into the ocean about 130 kilometers off the coast here, but we have not seen anything yet. ships in this port have refrained from going to fish in outer sea following down officials' advice.

aircraft and ships are being urged to make detours around the area where depree from the rock set expected to fall to earth. back to you in tokyo. >> thanks, anna. that was anna jung in south korea. with me is hideki, an expert on north korea. so hiroki, the south korean defense ministry announced there was a launch at 7:39 a.m. what can you tell us? >> minister of defense says after the launch, the missile got separated and fell into the sea. the ministry didn't specify the place, but it seems that the launch failed. and nhk correspondents say that no information is -- has been released to the -- for the media

there. nhk reporters are staying in their media center in the capital of pyongyang, but there is no move of releasing this informati information, the launch. the japanese government has released what is called em net. and it says at 7:40 local -- at 7:40 in the morning, the u.s. satellite catched the information of the launch from north korea. and the place of the launch is from the west coast of north korea and the direction was south. but there was no information about how many missiles were launched. and their projectile was -- its

projectile seems to have gotten separated into several pieces, but the number is unknown. and there is no information of the projectile which came to -- which flew to japan. and the kind of information was released at 8 -- about 8:30 in the morning japanese standard time. and -- but reaction to the u.n. security council, they are now discussing about this launch. and at 11:00 in the evening, japan standard time, the u.n. security council tried to have a discussion in new york. that's the latest information so far. >> i see. well, the u.n. security council members you are saying are working on how to respond to the

launch. earlier the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice, who holds the council's rotating chair currently, she says the members agree that the launch would be a provocation. all right. hiroki with us for details on north korea. he's an expert on north korean issues. we'll have you join us again later. thanks very much for your update. now let's take a look at the three-day forecast. well, actually, before we go to the three-day forecast, let's bring you up to date on what's happening currently. earlier the south korean defense ministry said that the launch occurred at 7:39 a.m., but u.s. officials, japan and south korea, are saying that the launch failed. and debris fell into the ocean. just 90 seconds after the launch. so these countries, japan, u.s. and south korea, these hree cous are saying that the launch failed. the japanese government says

north korean officials tried to launch a missile within the last few hours but the launch appears to have failed. the launch appears to have failed. at a news conference in tokyo, the defense minister indicated that the north korean launch may have failed. [ speaking >> at a separate news conference, government officials told supporters that the projectile was headed south. they indicate it may have separated into several pieces. meanwhile, the japanese government officials told nhk that the u.s. army detected a heat signature around the launch pad in north korea, but they have not found any corresponding evidence of a flight route. the officials say north korea may have failed to launch the

missile or the heat reaction may have been misdetected. abc news in the u.s. quoted government officials who said 90 seconds after launch the rocket exploded and fell into the ocean. we do not know where the debris has fallen, if, indeed, the debris has. we will continue to bring you details. now people along the path are, obviously, keeping their eyes on the sky once again. south korea's punsyan peninsula was one of the first points along that path. let's go back to anna jung who is standing by. anna, what can you tell us? >> reporter: south korea's defense ministry held a press conference. officials there confirmed that the north has launched a missile.

>> reporter: the spokesperson said south korean and u.s. military analysts are looking into what happened. president lee myung-bak is convening a meeting of senior ministers at this hour. they are expected to discuss what to do about the launch. experts had calculated that the first booster would drop into the ocean about 130 kilometers off the coast here, but we have not seen anything. ships in this port have refrained from going to fish in outer sea following town officials advice. aircraft and ships are being urged to make detours from thursday to monday around the area where debris from the rocket is expected to fall to earth. back to you in tokyo. >> all right, thanks, anna. anna jung in punsan, south korea. well, as we've been reporting, the japanese government says north korean officials tried to launch a

missile within the last few hours. but the launch appears to have failed. at a news conference in tokyo, the defense minister indicated that the north korean launch may have failed. >> all right. at a separate news conference, government officials told reporters that the projectile was headed south. they added that if it was launched it may have separated into several pieces. meanwhile, the japanese government officials told nhk that the u.s. army detected a heat signature around the launch pad in north korea, but they have not found any corresponding evidence of a flight route. the officials say north korea may have failed to launch the

missile or the heat reaction may have been misdetected. abc news in the u.s. quoted government officials who said 90 seconds after the launch, the rocket exploded and fell into the ocean. a u.s. official says north korea's launch has failed and an american tv network says the rocket fell apart in the first minutes of the launch and debris fell into the ocean. the precise location of where the debris fell has not been confirmed. south korean officials earlier said the launch occurred at 7:39 a.m. local time. now pyongyang has been saying that the rocket was put or they were trying to put a rocket -- put a satellite into orbit but the launch had much international criticism. many countries had said that the north was trying to test a ballistic missile. the japanese government says north korean officials tried to launch a missile within the last few hours, but, as we've been reporting, the launch appears to

have failed. at a news conference in tokyo, the defense minister indicated that the north korean launch may have failed. >> at a separate news conference, government officials told reporters that the projectile was headed south. they added that it may have separated into several pieces. meanwhile, the japanese government officials told nhk that the u.s. army detected a heat signature around the launch pad in north korea. but they have not found any evidence of a flight route. the officials say north korea may have failed to launch the missile or the heat reaction may have been misdetected.

let's get hiroki back into the studio. do you have any new information for us? >> the north korean state-run tv has studied -- are broadcasting at 9:00 in the morning that there is no mention about the launch, but the nhk correspondent in pyongyang says that the authorities is likely to hold a press conference but no details released. but people are assuming that officials may mention about this launch. >> well, anna earlier said they believe north korea's missile development program has several objectives. one is to enhance its military power. the north korean government also views its missile test as a trump card in negotiations with the u.s. now if this launch failed, what

do you think this means for pyongyang? >> it's going to be -- their new regime has just started right now and kim jong-un has tried to create his power base in the new regime. so in a sense before the 100th anniversary of the former founder -- the founder kim il-sung, the -- its a huge impact on his regime. it says japan's defense ministry say the missile appears to have risen 120 kilometers into the air, then broke into four

pieces. the pieces then fall into the yellow sea off the korean peninsula. and the -- says they are assessing from the information that the rocket fell on the ocean after flying about one minute more -- one more minute. may have been some trouble at the first engine. and he also said that the rocket my have exploded over north korea or self-destruction. he pointed that out that this time's launch attempt was more difficult than the previous attets. and that north koreans may have failed to have enough in its design, but i cannot assess how -- what happened there. >> we're still trying to. nhk is still trying to independently confirm the details coming in. speaking of previous launches. the last launch was three years ago in 2009. at that time, they launched an updated version of the taepodong

2. >> yes. >> and now they are, three years later, they are again launching what they call is a satellite but many countries, including japan, u.s. and south korea, these countries are saying that it is a test of a ballistic missile. >> yes. so the important thing is that the u.n. security council will hold a kind of discussion in the lateevening. so we have to watch what's going to -- going on at the discussion. >> i see. and current chair susan rice, she's the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, she has said that members agree that the launch would be a provocation. all right. hiroki in the studio giving us the latest on north korea. once again, as we've been reporting, the japanese government says north korean officials tried to launch a missile within the last few hours. but the launch appears to have failed. at a news conference in tokyo,

the defense minister indicated that the north korean launch may have failed. >> at a separate news conference, government officials told reporters at the projectile was headed south. they added that it may have separated into several pieces. meanwhile, the japanese government officials told nhk that the u.s. army detected some kind of heat signature around the launch pad in tongchang-ri. but they have not found any corresponding evidence of a flight route. the officials say north korea may have failed to launch the missile or the heat reaction may have been misdetected. however, abc news in the u.s. quoted government officials who

said 90 seconds after launch, the rocket exploded and fell into the ocean. now this is not the first time the north koreans have attempted something like this. they've launched several missiles in the past and have faced criticism from the west along the way. >> reporter: north korea tested his first midrange ballistic misnil 1993. the nodong 1 had a range of 1300 kilometers, making it capable of reaching almost any part of japan or its territories. the first launch of a long-range missile, the taepodong 1 took place in 1998. that missile flew over japan before falling into the pacific ocean. in july 2006, north korea carried out a series of tests over the sea of japan. firing seven missiles at once. one of them, the taepodong 2 has

a range of 6,000 kilometers. that means it is capable of reaching the mainland united states. three years later, pyongyang tested an improved version of the taepodong 2. analysts believe north korea's missile development program has several objectives. one is to enhance its military power. the north korean government also views its missile tests as a trump card in negotiations with the u.s. analysts also suspect north korea hopes to use missile technology exports as a source of revenue. >> south korea's punsan peninsula was one of the first points along the path of the rocket or the satellite as the north koreans call it. but many countries had been saying that they were testing a ballistic missile. nhk world's anna jung is there. let's call her back.

anna? >> reporter: south korea's defense ministry held a press conference. officials there confirm that the north has launched a missile from tongchang-ri. >> reporter: the spokesperson says south korea and u.s. military analysts are looking into what happened. president lee myung-bak is convening a meeting of senior ministers at this hour. we are expected to discuss what to do -- they are expected to do about the launch. experts had calculated that the first booster would drop into the ocean about 130 kilometers off the coast here. but we have not seen anything. ships in this port have refrained from going to fish in outer sea following town officials advice. aircraft and ships are being

urged to make detours from thursday to monday around the area where debris from the rocket is expected to fall to earth. back to you in tokyo. >> thanks very much, anna. anna jung in punsan, south korea. as we've been reporting, north korean officials tried to launch a missile within the last few hours. but the launch appears to have failed. south korean defense officials say that the launch occurred at 7:39 a.m. at a news conference in tokyo, the defense minister of japan says indicated that the north korean launch may have failed. >> at a separate news conference, government officials told reporters that the projectile was headed south. they added that it may have separated into several pieces.

meanwhile, the japanese government officials told nhk the u.s. army detected a heat signature around the launch pad in north korea. but they have not found any evidence of a flight route. the officials say north korea may have failed to launch the missile or the heat reaction may have been misdetected. abc news in the u.s. quoted government officials who said 90 seconds after launch, the rocket exploded and fell into the ocean. this is not the first time the north koreans have attempted something like this. as we've been reporting, they've launched several missiles in the past and have faced much criticism from the west along the way. >> reporter: north korea tested its first midrange ballistic missile in 1993. the nodong 1 had a range 16300 kilometers.

making it capable of reaching almost any part of japan or its territories. the first launch of a long-range missile, the taepodong 1 took place in 1998. that missile flew over japan before falling into the pacific ocean. in july 2006, north korea carried out a series of tests over the sea of japan. firing seven missiles at once. one of them, the taepodong 2 has a range of 6,000 kilometers. that means it is capable of reaching the mainland united states. three years later, pyongyang tested an improved version of its long-range taepodong 2. analysts believe north korea's missile development program has several objectives. one is to enhance its military power. the north korean government also views missile tests as a trump card in negotiations with the u.s. analysts also suspect north korea hopes to use missile

technology exports as a source of revenue. >> people along the flight path were keeping their eyes on the sky once again. south korea's punsan peninsula was one of the first points along that path. nhk world's anna jung is there. let's go back to anna. >> reporter: south korea's defense ministry held a press conference. officials there confirmed that the north has launched a missile from tongchang-ri. >> reporter: the spokesperson said south korean and u.s. military analysts are looking into what happened. president lee myung-bak is convening a meeting of senior ministers at this hour. they are expected to discuss what to do about the launch.

experts had calculated that the first booster would drop into the ocean about 130 kilometers off the coast here. but we have not seen anything. ships in this port have refrained from going into -- going to fish in outer sea following town officials' advice. aircraft and ships are being urged to make detours from thursday to monday around the area where debris from the rocket is expected to fall to earth. back to you in tokyo. >> thanks very much, anna. anna jung in punsan, south korea. we have hiroki, an expert on north korean issues back into the studio. this is a developing story. so hiroki, are we hearing any statements from pyongyang? >> no, no statement has been released yet. central tv has started their broadcasting program at 9:00 in the morning, but their

broadcasting is almost the same as usual. but there is footage coming from -- being sent from pyongyang, and it shows -- their footage shows -- so it seems to be that north korea is likely to hold press conference in pyongyang in the morning, and the authorities may argue about the launch of the missiles, what they call a rocket carrying a satellite. and there is also information from japan that the defense minister of japan, appears that the missile seems to have risen 120 kilometers into the air and broken into four pieces. and the pieces then fell into the yellow sea off the korean peninsula. >> i see. >> an expert on space technology

says that assessing the information that the rocket fell on the ocean after flying about one more minute. there may have been some trouble with the first engine. he also said that the rocket may have exploded or the north korea ordered it self-destruction. he pointed out this time's launch attempt was more difficult than the previous one in 2009 and that north koreans may have failed to have enough -- in its design. >> so the japanese defense ministry saying the rocket did launch, did rise 120 kilometers into the air, but fell and broke into four pieces. >> yes. officials said that. >> officials say that. and they are saying these pieces landed in the yellow sea. >> yellow sea. >> all right. hiroki, let's get you back into the studio later to get more updates. hiroki, an expert on north korean issues. once again, we've been

reporting, as we've been reporting, the japanese government says north korean officials tried to launch a missile within the last few

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