Rockets occasionaly fail even for the most skilled practitioners of space tech. I cannot imagine why they would bet so much prestige on an outcome that was so uncertain.

There's more to this than meets the eye, this rocket bust is a reflection of some internal power struggle. I'm neither implying or ruling out deliberate sabotage by someone in the regime, but it appears to me that such a developmental test should have been carried out in secret and only sprung on the world if it was a success, or could be spun that way.

My guess is this is a maneuver calculated to embarass someone by counseling him to move prematurely, which will make him look very bad in the event it doesn't work. The country is humiliated, its export technology discredited, and an important food deal goes bust. Whether that "someone" is the new leader, or one of his older rivals, remains to be seen.

It just goes to show you. Leadership people are willing and able to put their own personal interests and careers ahead of their country or party's welfare. Suits are suits, no matter where you find them.