N. Korea says satellite launch was success

As world leaders pondered how to punish North Korea for launching what was believed to be a multi-stage rocket, the communist nation said Sunday morning that it had succeeded in sending a satellite into space. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch that the Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite was circling orbit after a successful launch. The report said the satellite was sent into space aboard a three-stage space launch vehicle. The US and South Korea said the launch took place at 11:30 a.m. at North Korea's east coast launch pad.