PYONGYANG, North Korea – North Korea’s much-touted satellite launch ended in a nearly $1 billion failure, bringing humiliation to the country’s new young leader and condemnation from a host of nations. The United Nations Security Council deplored the launch but stopped short of imposing new penalties in response.

The satellite’s disintegration Friday over the Yellow Sea brought a rare public acknowledgment of failure from Pyongyang, which had hailed the launch as a show of strength amid North Korea’s persistent economic hardship.

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The missile launch Friday was supposed to be a highlight of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s ascension to power. The Associated Press

For the 20-something Kim Jong Un it was to have been a highlight of the celebratory events surrounding his ascension to top political power. It was timed to coincide with the celebration of the 100th birthday of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, the young leader’s grandfather.

The United States and South Korea declared the early-morning launch a failure minutes after the rocket shot out from the North’s west coast. North Korea acknowledged its demise four hours later in an announcement broadcast on state TV, saying the satellite the rocket was carrying did not enter orbit.

The launch brought swift international condemnation, including the suspension of U.S. food aid, and raised concerns that the North’s next move could be even more provocative — a nuclear test, the country’s third.

The U.N. Security Council denounced the launch as a violation of two resolutions that prohibit North Korea from developing its nuclear and missile programs, and met to consider a response.

Despite Friday’s failed launch, Pyongyang pressed ahead with grandiose propaganda in praise of the ruling Kim family.

Hours after the explosion, the young Kim was installed as the new head of the powerful National Defense Commission during a meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang. It was the last of the top military and party posts intended to consolidate his power after the death of his father, longtime leader Kim Jong Il, four months ago.

At a massive gathering later Friday, Kim Jong Un and other senior officials watched the unveiling of an enormous new statue of Kim Jong Il.

North Korea had trumpeted the launch of its Kwangmyongsong, or Bright Shining Star, satellite as a scientific achievement and a gift for its late founder. It cost the impoverished nation some $850 million, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, which estimated the cost of the rocket and its payload alone at $450 million.

Experts say the Unha-3 carrier was the same type of rocket that would be used to strike the U.S. and other targets with a long-range missile.

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