U.S. experts on North Korea said Friday's failed launch will probably not create leadership conflicts in Pyongyang, but that if the true purpose of the launch was to whip up a world media frenzy, it succeeded brilliantly.
"It's unlikely the apparent failure of the launch will have any effect on the leadership in North Korea, especially since Kim Jong Un has just recently become the first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and the party's chairman of the Central Military Commission, positions that need the support of the country's military. I don't think that Washington is too concerned right now about a change in the leadership," said Anthony DiFilippo, professor of Sociology at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and author of the recent "U.S.-Japan-North Korean Security Relations: Irrepressible Interests."
He added that Washington and Pyongyang are likely to resume bilateral discussions, but not right away.