North Korea announced its intention to launch a ‘communications satellite’, downplaying its suspected plans to test a long-range ballistic missile test despite a U.N. resolution forbidding such activity. Experts fear an attempt by the U.S. or Japan to destroy the missile in flight could precipitate a regional conflict or a break-down in negotiations. Daniel Pinkston of Ploughshares-funded International Crisis Group [2] says "All the indications are that [the North Koreans] are likely to go forward with this. I don't think people see how serious the implications are. "
Links
[1] https://ploughshares.org/file/251
[2] http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm
[3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/24/AR2009022400324.html?hpid=sec-world