AP Photo

The failed launch today of North Korea's ‘earth observation satellite' completed a tragedy of Greek epic dimensions for the hermit kingdom's new young leader, Kim Jung-un. Act One ended on a highly optimistic note on 29 February, with a US-North Korea deal on suspending strategic weapons activity that seemed too good to be true. In Act Two 16 days later, North Korea confirmed that it was indeed too good to be true: the long-range missile test moratorium part of the deal came with an exception in newly inked fine print. Faced with nearly universal calls to desist, North Korea responded with hubris, inviting scores of journalists and experts to observe the launch. Act Three today ended a couple of minutes after lift-off when the Unha-3 rocket began to malfunction and soon fell into...