“Active discussions on pursuing measures?”…Yes, that’s what the State Department spokesman said about our response to North Korea’s missile launch. That’s when the reporter laughed…I’m not laughing because this missile can reach the U.S.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Sunday defied international warnings and launched a long-range rocket that the United Nations and others call a cover for a banned test of technology for a missile that could strike the U.S. mainland.

The rocket, fired from North Korea’s west coast and tracked by the governments in South Korea and Japan, came about two hours after an eight-day launch window opened Sunday morning. It follows North Korea’s widely disputed claim last month to have tested a hydrogen bomb. Washington, Seoul and their allies will consider it a further provocation and will push for more tough sanctions in the United Nations.

A South Korean defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of office rules, said the launch from the North’s west coast launching pad was made between 9:30 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. local time, but gave no other details. Japan’s NHK broadcaster reported that debris from the launch was believed to have fallen about 250 kilometers (155 miles) off the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula into the East China Sea about 14 minutes after the launch.

North Korean rocket and nuclear tests are seen as crucial steps toward the North’s ultimate goal of a nuclear armed long-range missile arsenal. North Korea under leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to bolster its nuclear arsenal unless Washington scraps what Pyongyang calls a hostile policy meant to collapse Kim’s government.

Read more: Breitbart