How provocative are the North Koreans trying to be with their upcoming missile “space” launch?

John McKittrick at Closing Velocity calls my attention to the direction of the North Korean launch, which is aimed straight at… Hawaii.

The question of whether the Norks have a missile that could reach Hawaii is another story. From the BBC:

The Taepodong-2 long-range missile is estimated to have a range of between 5,000 and 6,000 km, putting Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the west coast of the US within range.
But the first launch of the missile, in July 2006, appeared to be a failure after it crashed within seconds of launch – according to US sources.
If the missile was successfully launched, it is not thought to be particularly accurate or to be able to carry a large warhead.

Think the North Koreans want some attention from the new President?