North Korea fired a long-range rocket Friday morning, but the launch has failed. The North said the Unha-3 rocket was to place the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite in orbit, but the international community believed the North was testing its intercontinental ballistic missile.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said the Unha-3 rocket took off from the Dongchang-ri launch site in the North's Cheolsan, North Pyeongan Province at 7:39 a.m. Ministry spokesman, Kim Min-seok, said the missile appears to have separated into several pieces before crashing into the sea a few minutes after takeoff.

The spokesman said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities believed the launch has failed. The North’s Korean Central News Agency confirmed around noon on Friday that the launch was unsuccessful. A senior South Korean military official also said the rocket debris appears to have fallen in waters 190 to 200 kilometers west of South Korea's Gunsan coast, as the rocket traveled that distance without the first and second stage rockets separating.

Intelligence officials in Seoul and Washington have been operating Defense Support Program (DSP) satellites and the sea-based X-band radar SBX-1 to monitor the North's rocket launch.

The North claimed in 2009 that it launched the Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite and successfully placed it in orbit, and that the satellite is circling the Earth's orbit while broadcasting songs of praise for the late North Korean founder, Kim Il-sung.

However, the satellite was nowhere to be found and there were no signs whatsoever of any satellite activity. At the time, South Korea, the U.S. and Russia confirmed the second and third stage sections of the rocket crashed into the Pacific Ocean, or the satellite failed to enter orbit.

The UN Security Council convened a meeting immediately following the launch and released a chairman's statement denouncing the rocket blast within 10 days. World countries, including the U.S., imposed sanctions on the North as the global community considered the launch to be a test-fire of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

UN Security Council Resolution 1874 bans any kind of rocket launch using ballistic missile technology. This includes satellite launches, which is why numerous countries had urged Pyongyang to withdraw its plan as it is a clear violation of the UN resolution.

Despite global pressure, the North went ahead with the launch, which was believed to be aimed at swiftly stabilizing the new Kim Jong-un regime.

During earlier bilateral talks with the U.S., the North agreed to implement prior steps to denuclearization and suspend missile launches. By blasting the rocket, the North also violated the agreement with Washington.

Despite the burden, the launch was a message to declare North Korea as a strong, powerful nation on the occasion of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's centennial birthday.

The North even invited foreign reporters to Pyongyang to boast about the first achievement of its new leader Kim Jong-un. However, the failed launch has complicated matters even more, which can further heighten regional instability.