North Korea's rocket launch: Beaming THE boyish dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, is showing a liking for publicity stunts, albeit defiant and dangerous ones. On December 12th his regime caught most people off-guard by firing a rocket into space and apparently putting a rudimentary satellite into orbit. For the tinpot state, it was a first. The launch came less than a week before the first anniversary of the death of his rocket-loving father, Kim Jong Il. The timing suggests that the chief aim was to solidify the young Mr Kim's leadership clique within the regime, as well as his popularity among an oppressed citizenry. But as is the habit with North Korea, the launch also reverberated internationally. Sending a satellite into orbit requires much of the same technology as firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with an equivalent payload at, say, America - once re-entry expertise and accuracy have been mastered. So the success represents big progress in North Korea's missile programme. It also raises the stakes in dealings with the recalcitrant regime, at a time of new administrations in America and China and just before elections in Japan (December 16th) and South Korea (December 19th). In South Korea's presidential election, both main candidates had been talking of engaging with the North after a prolonged and tense stand-off under the outgoing president, Lee Myung-bak. Mr Kim's provocative behaviour undermines the goodwill. In Japan, regional security is already a campaign issue. The rocket will reinforce a hawkish mood. Both South Korea and Japan swiftly condemned the launch. America called it "a highly provocative act" that violated United Nations resolutions barring the nuclear-armed regime from carrying out ballistic-missile activities. The three countries had put pressure on North Korea beforehand to abandon its plans. Even China, the regime's strongest backer, had expressed concern about the violation of UN obligations. It maintains that the North has the right to a "space programme." But afterwards it expressed its "regret" over the rocket launch. As The Economist went to press, it was unclear how strongly the UN would react. In April, when the new Kim regime conducted a failed rocket launch in defiance of international opposition, the UN Security Council issued a "presidential statement" condemning the action, strengthening sanctions on the regime and warning of further measures if another launch were conducted. However, China, a permanent member of the Security Council, appears concerned that too much pressure on the North Koreans might provoke them into staging a third nuclear test. China's priority is stability: it would rather have a nuclear North Korea than an imploding one. Possibly, it sees the North's denuclearisation as unrealisable. For all that, a significant, if minority, group of Chinese experts believes that the North Koreans are troublemakers and that China should ditch them. Some analysts think that the timing of the launch, just before the end-of-the-year holidays, may soften some of its negative international impact. A new South Korean government next year may still look for ways to re-engage the North and wave before it inducements to pursue reforms. This is good timing for North Korea. There are two weeks for governments to make a fuss, and then the new year provides everyone with a chance to move on, both psychologically and politically," says Narushige Michishita of the Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. Beforehand, news of the proposed launch was kept from North Koreans (though not the world), possibly because of the embarrassment that ensued in April, when a much-heralded rocket launch flopped. This time, success was broadcast with fanfare. A presenter dressed in pink robes triumphantly barked out the news of the rocket's mission. In Pyongyang, Kyodo, a Japanese news agency, reported elation tinged with surprise. Certainly the people were ecstatic. "I just don't know how to express my joy about the news," a waitress gushed. I cannot imagine how happy [the late] General Secretary Kim Jong Il will be after hearing this wonderful news. Even if this were genuinely felt, it is hard to imagine any other response. Although North Korea had announced its space plans to the outside world, the actual news of the launch was unexpected when it came. Only days before, North Korea had extended the time frame for the rocket's take-off because of unexplained glitches. On December 11th what now look like erroneous reports from South Korea had said that the Unha-3 rocket was being dismantled at the Sohae space station north-west of the capital. There may have been some wishful thinking involved. Tacitly, the rival countries have engaged in a space race ever since the North unsuccessfully sought to launch its first rocket in 1998. Only last month, tech-savvy South Korea failed in its third attempt to put a satellite into orbit, partly because of faulty Russian technology. Yet North Korea's crowing should be put into perspective. Even with a satellite in space, experts say it is likely to be able to send only the grainiest of video images back to Pyongyang. Those pictures may simply confirm what much of the outside world already knows: that the country is so deprived of electricity that from space it is pitch-black at night, compared with the brilliant glow across South Korea, Japan and much of China.