country, former u.n. ambassador, bill richardson. plus, george zimmerman in court, the man who shot 17-year-old trayvon martin. he spoke a few words and answered the judge's questions today. we're also getting new information tonight from the affidavit of probable cause in the case. it says zimmerman, and i quote, profiled trayvon martin and disregarded the police dispatcher's request that he wait for officers to arrive. a prime-time exclusive tonight with his new attorney, mark o'mara in just a moment. but we begin with our breaking news, north korea's failed missile launch. i want to bring in barbara starr at the pentagon and dan lothian at the white house. barbara, a very dramatic few hours here. obviously, we knew this launch was coming. it seems to have been a spectacular failure. what can you tell me about it? >> piers, a senior u.s. official just saying those very words to me. an unprecedented record of failure for the north koreans, now one of the third failures in a row of their rocket and missile program. this rocket lifted off the launch pad and very quickly, within about 90 seconds, broke into several pieces. if you look at the map, we are told that the major debris field now is about 165 kilometers west of south korea. so it broke apart in flight. that is a fundamental failure of north korean missile and rocket technology. why does it matter? the north koreans are tough customers, but why do we really care about this? because this is basically, even though they said it was a satellite, this is military technology. they could some day perfect long-range missile technology using these kinds of systems, put a warhead on top, and possibly reach out and touch, essentially, to hawaii or alaska. that's why the u.s. cares, that's why asia cares. this is definitely a failed military launch, piers. >> dan lothian, let me go to you now. the white house, i guess, are watching this with considerable trepidation. because as embarrassing as this, in the sense that it failed, the mere fact that north korea is doing this at all, in direct contravention of the united nations, is worrying, isn't it? it's an escalation? >> reporter: it certainly is worrying, very provocative according to administration officials here. and despite the fact, as barbara and others have pointed out, that there have been failures there with these kinds of liftoffs in north korea, there's always the assumption that something like this could be successful. and that's why this administration had been warning north korea not to launch this rocket, even threatening to pull back on this plan. food aid to that country, which is critical with the millions of people there, who are starving. so the threats were there. but nonetheless, north korea went along with this launch. and troubling, yes, and we're waiting -- we're waiting to hear from the white house. i think what's interesting is that we had been told now for the last couple of days that upon the launch of this rocket, that we would be getting some kind of statement from the white house and at least a couple hours ago or so, i heard from a senior administration official who told me that a statement would be coming shortly. we still have not received any official reaction yet from the white house, perhaps because this rocket failed. they're sort of recalibrating what the public message will be. >> dan, we'll come back to you if we get that statement from the white house. and to you, barbara, later on in the show, when we know more about exactly what's happened tonight. but for now i want to go to somebody who's pretty much an expert on this area, bill richardson, the former u.s. g ambassador to the u.n. and former secretary of energy. bill richardson, what do you make of this? clearly, we knew it was happening, it's been a failure, but what is the bigger, wider significance? >> well, i wouldn't want to be the head of north korea's space agency right now. it is a failure. there's obviously a gap in the technology. the ballistic missile technology of north korea. i do believe it was a cover, this launch, for ballistic missile technology, long-range military purposes, but it's a failure. now, what do you do about it? obviously, i think the united states has to proceed with some kind of security counsel condemnation of this effort. i don't know if you put anymore sanctions on north korea. every single sanction is out there. but, obviously, what does it mean within north korea? i don't think it will affect the leadership of kim jong-un. he was the designated heir. he was given even more powers this weekend. but possibly north korea may reassess their behavior. this was a failure. and what they need to do is see what is their next step. do they want to continue in this isolated state? maybe this will spur them back to negotiations. i've dealt with them -- >> governor, if i could just hold you there can -- governor, if i could just -- >> yeah? >> let me just hold you, governor. we have a statement from the white house. i'm going back to dan lothian, who's at the white house. dan? >> reporter: that's right. we just got this statement from the white house. "despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, north korea's provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law, and contravenes its own recent commitments. while this action is not surprising given north korea's pattern of aggressive behavior, any missile activity by north korea is of concern to the international community." the statement goes on to say that the united states remains vigilant in the face of north korean provocations and is fully committed to the security of our allies in the region. the president has been clear, the statement says, that he is prepared to engage constructively with north korea. although, he has insisted that north korea live up to its own commitments, adhere to its international obligations, and deal peacefully with its neighbors. north korea, it says, is only further isolating itself by engaging in provocative acts and is wasting its money on weapons and propaganda displace, while the north korean people go hungry. north korea's long-standing development of missiles in pursuit of nuclear weapons have not brought it security and never will. north korea will only show strength and find security by abiding by international laws, living up to its obligations, and by working to feed its is citizens, to educate its children, and to win the trust of its neighbors. and this is the kind of language that we've been hearing from this administration leading up to this launch. clearly a condemnation of that rocket launch from the white house tonight. >> yeah, dan, thanks a lot. let's go back to barbara starr. barbara, what do you make of the white house reaction? i mean, it seems that there's clearly a difficult here, isn't it? we've got a change of leadership, so kim jong-il was there for ages. now you've got his son. no one knows much about his son. this is his first action, and it seems to be normal -- >> didn't go very well, did it? >> just ignore united nationses, carry on like dad used to do. how serious is this? how dangerous is north korea? and what should the international community now do, given they basically stuck a ballistic two fingers up at us all? >> well, it's been a bad day for the new leader, hasn't it? look, there's a lot of concern. i don't think anyone thinks the danger from north korea has really passed. because u.s. intelligence, piers, already tells us, already shows that they may now be making preparations for another test of their third underground nuclear test. preparations for that, now indications that's underway. that's a big concern. a concern that with this uncertain new leadership in north korea, seeing these failures, how do they deal with it? what are the chances that they might possibly lash out in some fashion? that's a big concern. so what you have right now is a period of uncertainty, at best, north korea's always the hermit kingdom, isn't it? people don't really know what goes on there. but right now, how will they react to this failure? that's the big concern? and what is the real failure here? will the north koreans pin blame on somebody? do they believe they got faulty equipment somewhere? it's going to be important to see how, exactly, they react. but no, the danger still there. >> and is it right that some of that equipment's come from iran in this particular case? >> you know, there is a lot out there that says it has come from -- there has been iranian involvement over the year, and it's very interesting that you ask that, because senior u.s. officials will tell you that they believe the sanctions against north korea have kept the really precision equipment out of there. that it's not that easy for them to get it. but iranian scientists have been in and out of that country for some considerable period of time. and the north koreans often put on these displays of these launches, because they want to sell this stuff on the world market. it's how they get hard currency. >> barbara, thanks for now. let's go back to bill richardson. bill, you've heard the white house statement there. we don't know much about north korea's new leader, do we? i mean, he is an unknown quantity here. this is clearly a deliberate act of defiance. what should the world do about this? how -- what is the clever way of responding to this potentially very unstable situation? >> well, the clever way, i thought the white house statement was prudent and clever. yes, it condemned what north korea did. we're obviously going to go to the security council. but it left a little opening, saying that we are ready to negotiate with them if they change their behavior. now, hopefully north korea will see that this path of nuclear aggrandizement is just not working. now they've suffered a huge public relations fiasco. so what do you do with the food aid? what i would do is, yes, suspend the food aid that was part of this the deal with north korea, but don't cancel it altogether. use it as a lever with six-party countries like south korea, like russia, like china. this is a time to say to china that has a lot of leverage with north korea, look, let's try to get them back into sensible behavior. it's not going to affect kim jong-un. he is the designated leader. he obviously is getting a lot of pressure from the north korean military, because there must have been an internal debate, do we proceed with this launch. the answer was yes. they proceeded with this launch. and now they have to reassess their options. so i think the white house statement was prudent. it left a little door open. and i think it's important not to crow about this. because they are a dangerous country. they have ballistic missile technology -- >> i agree with that. i think barbara starr -- yeah, i thought barbara raised a great point, which is, this could go two ways. yes, they've been humiliated. but if the world starts laughing at north korea and you've got a young, new leader who feels embarrassed, this could be even more dangerous. bill, for you, i'm going to have to leave it. thank you very much, because we've got a live link up to cnn's stan grant. he's in pyongyang, in north korea, and he has more on tonight's failed launch. stan, i know that it's a long delay where you are now, so i'll leave it to you. tell me what you know. >> reporter: yeah, piers, not very much, if you're listening to the north korean officials. everything we've been learning has been coming from the united states, south korea, and japan. that's where the confirmation came, a, that the rocket had actually taken off, and b, that it had failed. now, north korean officials saying nothing. we've put this question to our government minders, they're denying even that they know that it had taken off. if you go into the press center, where i've just come from now, that's been specially set up for this event, there is an empty chair where the government official was meant to be sitting. all of this, an enormous embarrassment. you know, piers, they've gone to great lengths to open up this window on to north korea, to allow the world's media in here, even takes us up to the site itself, and i stood right at the base of the rocket. that's how -- that's how confident they were that this was going to be able to take off. that it would be a success. and when i put that question to them the other day, they said it's not just about science, this was decreed by the departed dear leader, kim jong-il himself. so much riding on this, and so much embarrassment now. and as of yet, no comment. piers? >> yeah, it will be very interesting to see how they respond and how they react to this. there are concerns, obviously, an embarrassed, humiliated north korea. as i said just now, a young new leader trying to prove himself, he won't want to lose face with his people, and how he responds may well be dictated how he feels the rest of the international community is treating him. >> reporter: you know, piers, you've really put your finger on it here. the legitimacy of this regime comes from the aura of power. that they cannot just stand up to the outside world, but that they can convince their people that they are invincible. you know, people here have been cut off for so long. they've endured sanctions, isolated from the rest of the world, they don't have access to the international phone calls, international media. they're not logging on to websites. so they're very malleable. what the regime tells them is all they will know. remember, this regime has convinced people here that the food aid it receives from the rest of the world is a tribute to the might of the kim dynasty. so the story they're going to tell is going to be a very different story that they tell to the rest of the world. but they need to be able to assure that they can play this out and not suffer more dire circumstances. a drying up of aid. a country that cannot feed itself needs to be able to rely on the rest of the world. this was supposed to be the year, the year they celebrate of the centenary, the year they celebrate the birth of the founder of kim il-sung. >> stan, thanks very much for now. when we come back, the man who's defending george zimmer n zimmerman. 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at's why sears brought the latest craftsman line here. to put our money where our mouth is. welcome to the turf war. compare any craftsman tractor, mower, or trimmer to any other brand, and we guarantee sears has the lowest price. you won't find a better deal there, or there. and if you do, we'll match it. and give you up to a hundred dollars to spend on anything at sears. it's a turf war. because your lawn in worth fighting for. want proof? see our prices and theirs at sears.com/compare. mr. zimmermann, you're appearing here for your first appearance at this time for charge of the murder in the second degree and you are represented by mr. o'mara, is that true? >> yes, sir. >> that was george zimmerman in court today, charged with second-degree murder in the death of trayvon martin. had little to say to the judge, but his attorney, mark o'mara, has a lot to say and is joining me now for a prime-time exclusive. mr. o'mara, thanks for joining me. i had some interviews with your predecessors. i had a fractionous interview with your predecessors, who i felt did themselves no great service. and i think there's a kind of sense of relief that george zimmerman at least now appears to have serious representation. what are your goals here? because you said that you're not being paid at the moment for this work. you've just, obviously, met george zimmerman for the first time. what is your goal? >> well, a couple of goals. one, we, of course, have a lot of information to find out. i'm far behind on finding out the information flow, so we need to do that. a real goal for the case is i truly want to try to bring down the level of anger, animosity, just frustrations, emotions that are in the case or outside the case, but affecting the case. so my hope is that we can just be a bit more sensitive to what's happening outside the case, but still focus on what we need to do within the case. >> what were your first impressions of george zimmerman, as a man? >> well, he's afraid and he's stressed and he's tired. that was one thing. i will tell you, and you may have seen it on today's tv, he was smaller and younger looking than i thought he was going to be from the one picture that i had seen and everybody else had seen. he stands about 5'8", 185 pounds, i think. so i, at 6'2", sort of tower over him. and he is afraid of both what has happened to him in the past. i think that type of trauma of being involved in a situation where someone passed away carries with it a lot of stress. and of course, he's facing second-degree murder charges and a potential life sentence. and i think if any of us had that going on, there would be an enormous amount of stress. >> there's a report that he spent most of last night in custody in tears. he hardly slept. that he's been heard sobbing for most of the evening. is that true? >> i was not aware of that until that was reported in the news. i've not had a chance to talk with him about that at all. but certainly when i saw him last night, about midnight, it's a very emotional time for him and i think the reality is settling in now that the charges have been filed. of course, i had a conversation with him about where this is going and how long it's probably going to last. and the scrutiny that he's going to be under. >> how would you describe -- because you're the best person to ask. you're the only person who's got this close to george zimmerman outside of his immediate family, since this all blew up. how would you describe his attitude to this case? how does he feel? >> he is very concerned about the way he has been portrayed and the way that this case has sort of seemingly gotten almost out of control, starting with maybe the way it was handled early on in the investigation by law enforcement. and of course, that immediately shifted from the frustration, i think existed in the community from that to george. and he doesn't quite understand it. he doesn't understand why people view him in a way that he perceives to be so different than his reality. >> do you believe that he regrets getting out of the car and following trayvon martin at all? >> you know, i've not talked to him about the facts of the case. i don't want to slice it so thin. he is -- you know, he is very concerned with the way this resulted, in the death of trayvon martin, and his concern is for the family as well. but as i mentioned before, that should be a conversation that really goes directly to the martin family, and i'd rather just let that occur than through me. >> i mean, tr