North Korea has defied International pressure and launched a rocket

The Pentagon has confirmed the rocket launched, but it may have failed before entering orbit.

North Korea on Friday launched its controversial rocket carrying a weather satellite, South Korea’s Defence Ministry and U.S. officials said.

A spokesman for the Defence Ministry in Seoul told reporters at a briefing that the launch at taken place at 0739 local time (2239 GMT) and that South Korea and the United States were checking whether it had been a success.