Philippines lifts alert level as North Korea rocket launch fails

Philippine authorities have lifted the red alert status imposed earlier on wide areas in Northern Philippines as North Korea's rocket launch failed after take off Friday.

The alert level has been lowered from red to blue which effectively decrease the forces monitoring the rocket launch by half. The "no-fly, no-sail' zone declared by the government in the northeastern seaboard of Luzon have likewise been lifted according to NDRRMC Executive Director Benito Ramos, who has been monitoring the rocket launch situation. In a statement issued by Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and disseminated by Ramos, he confirmed that the rocket failed to complete its flight as intended. “We confirm that the North Korean rocket launch has failed to complete its intended flight and fallen into the seas, west of South Korea. This location is far from the Philippines,” Gazmin said in a statement, delivered by Ramos. “We reiterate our call to the North Koreans to abide by the UN (United Nations) resolutions, turn away from exploring further ballistic missile experimentation and fully cooperate with the rest of the world.” The US and Japan have confirmed that indeed the rocket failed to complete its intended flight. Japan Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said the rocket fell just minutes after take off. "We have confirmed that a certain flying object has been launched and fell after flying for just over a minute," he said. North Korea remains silent about the failed rocket launch saying they will issue statement about the failed launch soon. But in a broadcast by a North Korean State TV, they acknowledged the rocket failed to enter orbit, the guardian co.uk reported "Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure," the Korean central news agency said.