HONG KONG -- North Korea surprised and angered the international community Wednesday by launching a long-range rocket just days after suggesting it would be delayed.

The secretive North Korean regime said the rocket had successfully blasted off from a space center on its west coast and claimed the satellite it was carrying had entered its intended orbit. The launch followed a botched attempt in April.

Neighboring countries confirmed that the rocket had taken off Wednesday morning and flown south over the Japanese island of Okinawa, but they didn't say whether it had succeeded in putting a satellite in orbit. North Korea claimed in 2009 that a rocket that fell into the Pacific Ocean had successfully launched a satellite...

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