North Korea/United States: N. Korean rocket capable of hitting half the US -- American scientists.

Section: General News - The long-range rocket North Korea launched in April could be converted into a ballistic missile that can theoretically hit half the United States with a substantial payload, two American physicists have concluded from their joint study.

North Korea launched on April 5 what it claims was a rocket designed to carry a satellite into orbit.

But the US and its allies said nothing entered orbit, calling the "Unha-2" rocket a disguised form of a ballistic missile capable of flying over 6,700 kilometers.

MIT professor Theodore Postol and David Wright, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said the rocket could fly even further -- over 10,000 kilometers -- …