The Taepodong-2 test was not a success. Experts say the missile had 42 seconds of normal flight before failure of the rocket's first, or booster, stage caused it to fall into the sea.
There was some suggestion initially that the North Korean engineers had only planned for a short flight.
But Joseph Bermudez, senior analyst with Jane's Defence Weekly, disagreed with this.
The first phase is believed to be new technology, and so the North Koreans would logically want to test the missile to completion of at least the first phase, he said.
There is also the issue of expense. "North Korea is a very poor country, and a missile test and the Taepodong-2 system itself are extremely expensive propositions proportionally for the government," he said.
Professor David Wall, a Northeast Asia expert at Chatham House, added that the failure of the Taepodong-2 showed the country did not have the technology for a successful long-range missile.
"There are no indications of the ability in North Korea to go beyond minor alterations to Scud technology," he said.
Data
But the value of the launches to North Korea should not be underestimated.
The seven missile tests were the country's most sophisticated to date - a demonstration of the ability to launch multiple systems at multiple locations.
Some of the missiles were fired not from the Musudan-ri site, but from mobile launch equipment. According to Daniel Pinkston from the Centre for Non-Proliferation Studies, this is a way of showing the country's breadth in its deterrent force.
"The North Koreans demonstrated that they could fire missiles from other locations if one were to be taken out in a pre-emptive strike," he said.
He added that, while there has been a lot of focus on the failure of the Taepodong-2 missile, the North Koreans were able to accomplish other things when testing their short and medium-range missiles.
"They could conduct training for their military forces and their command control of their missile units," he said. "It is an opportunity for the guys on the ground to practise."
Equally, although the Taepodong-2 test failed, engineers will have learned from it. "Even if they had a failure, that is helpful, because if there is a flaw in the design and components, the test is going to reveal that."
Mr Bermudez agrees. "They could have learned a tremendous amount, but that depends on the telemetry [data transfer technology]. If it was fine and they were receiving it properly, they would have learned a number of things."
North Korea has threatened further tests if put under international pressure.
South Korean intelligence has shown that two sets of Taepodong-2 missiles were transported to the Musudan-ri site, although the second did not yet appear to be assembled.
"North Korea will feel an imperative to test again, once its engineers determine what went wrong," said Mark Fitzpatrick, from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
