Maybe it was intended to be a show of farce instead?

The botched launching of a long-range rocket wasn’t exactly the show of strength that the third generation of North Korean dictators wanted to mark the 100th year of his family’s regime.

But it may have been the most appropriate one for a government that’s done little more than repress its people and drive them into economic hardship over the past century.

The satellite launch by Pyongyang from North Korea’s west coast fizzled in spectacular fashion, as young dictator Kim Jong Un watched $1 billion worth of hope disintegrate over the Yellow Sea. The failure of the launch, which the North Korean government had bragged would demonstrate its power, was such a big issue that even Pyongyang officials had to admit it publicly — albeit four hours later, long after the United States and South Korea had broken the news.

So, what did North Korea get for its ill-planned party fireworks?

It got hungrier. President Barack Obama quickly announced that the United States was suspending its food aid.

It lost even more of what little credibility it had in agreements it has made with other nations. A promise from North Korea’s government is worth about as much as one from Iran’s.

It increased the concerns of many nations — including Russia — that swiftly condemned the action as provocative. The U.N. Security Council said it deplored the rocket launch, citing two violations of council resolutions.

Unless there is some sort of strong action taken by other nations to prevent it, North Korea’s government will redirect whatever money it has to from the welfare of its citizens until it achieves its goal of gaining a nuclear missile capable of crossing the ocean.

— the Albany Herald
Online: www.albanyherald.com