IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED – AT 10:01 A.M. ET:  What an embarrassment.  North Korea tried a missile test yesterday, defying the international community, and the missile broke up in less than a minute.  But the northerners remain defiant, and there may be more to come:

(Reuters) - North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed on Friday, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt.

The isolated North, using the launch to celebrate the 100th birthday of the dead founding president Kim Il-sung and to mark the rise to power of his grandson Kim Jong-un, is now widely expected to press ahead with its third nuclear test to show its military strength.

"The possibility of an additional long-range rocket launch or a nuclear test, as well as a military provocation to strengthen internal solidarity is very high," a senior South Korean defense ministry official told a parliamentary hearing.

The two Koreas are divided by the world's most militarized border and remain technically at war after an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953.

COMMENT:  Even though the test failed, it was seen as a major rebuff to President Obama.  Indeed, it's clear that many nations, especially hostile nations, no longer take Obama seriously, and believe him to be a paper tiger.  These nations do what they wish, and Obama's usual response is to call for more negotiations. 

We have nothing credible to use against the North Koreans, except the threat to cut off food supplies, which would be seen as punishing only the people, not the government.

So we prepare for the next North Korean demo.  This is what happens when we have an administration that doesn't understand the lessons of the 20th century.

April 13, 2012