AP Photo

North Korea’s satellite launch, planned as a celebration of the centenary of the birth of its founding President, Kim Il Sung, failed sometime shortly after 7:40 a.m. Friday when the first stage of the Unha-3 rocket dropped to the Yellow Sea about 165 km west of Seoul. After weeks of antagonism between North Korea and the U.S., South Korea and Japan, who said the launch was the equivalent of a ballistic missile test, the failure offered a moment of respite. “At no time were the missile or the resultant debris a threat,” noted a statement from the North American Aerospace Defense Command. In a rare admission, North Korea’s state-run news service acknowledged the satellite “failed to enter its preset orbit.” It said technicians were...