Kwangmyongsong 3-2 is in orbit but is "tumbling" and not transmitting

If Kwangmyongsong-3 is indeed "tumbling" out of control, then it would raise questions about whether the satellite is designed to stay in orbit for two years as stated by North Korea. Sometimes, satellites can lose contact with ground-based communications facilities partly because of solar radiation flares (it's the equivalent of planes losing contact with the airport because of weather systems).

A photograph of the Earth's surface by Kwangmyongsong-3 that could be successfully sent back to Earth would show that the satellite itself is not tumbling out of control. Nevertheless, Kwangmyongsong-3 seems to being in the proper preset orbit for now, and the US and the UN Security Council should not push for a new round of sanctions against N. Korea for its satellite launch just because it was for peaceful civilian purposes. (New sanctions may be necessary, however, if North Korea follows the launch of Kwangmyongsong-3 with a third nuclear weapons test.)