ROCKETS TO THE NORTH

As reported from CNN

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Sunday in what U.S. and South Korean officials deemed a provocative act.

A recent satellite image shows a rocket sitting on its launch pad in northeast North Korea.

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While the United States and South Korea confirmed the rocket launch, the payload of the rocket remains unclear. North Korea has said the rocket was to carry a satellite into space, but the United States, South Korea and other nations fear it could be a missile with a warhead attached.

"With this provocative act, North Korea has ignored its international obligations, rejected unequivocal calls for restraint, and further isolated itself from the community of nations," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement after the launch.

"We will immediately consult with our allies in the region, including Japan and (South Korea), and members of the U.N. Security Council to bring this matter before the Council," Obama added. "I urge North Korea to abide fully by the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council and to refrain from further provocative actions."

The council scheduled a meeting for Sunday afternoon after Japan's representative to the United Nations, Yukio Takasu, sent a letter requesting an urgent meeting in response to the launch.

A senior Obama administration official in Washington confirmed that the rocket did clear Japan.

Japan's chief Cabinet secretary told reporters after the launch that the country's military was not forced to intercept any missile, which it had pledged to do if necessary. Preliminary data show that two objects, likely boosters from the rocket, apparently fell around Japan, one in the Sea of Japan and one in the Pacific Ocean.

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The rocket -- launched at about 11:30 a.m. local time Sunday (2:30 a.m. GMT) -- was a "provocative act in violation" of a U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea's weapons program, Fred Lash, a State Department spokesman, told reporters.

An October 2006 resolution condemned North Korea for missile launches in the summer and a nuclear test that same month

VIN SCULLY ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCHING DURING THE DODGER SPRING TRAINING GAME AND MADE IT SOUND LIKE EVERYBODY SHOULD BE EXTREMELY NERVOUS.

SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN ARE PROBABLY VERY VERY NERVOUS

I, on the other hand, am much more concerned about the Dodger pitching staff.

Sorry world....but Baseball season officially starts tomorrow and nothing ever seems as important as the beginning of baseball season.

I'm glad I have it in my life and if you don't care about Baseball then you should move to North Korea.

Does anybody have Kim Jong's cell phone number?

Michael Timothy McAlevey