North Korea’s second attempt to launch a military spy satellite into orbit has failed.
North Korea stated that the launch occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, the first day of a week-long launch window, but failed due to a fault with the rocket carrying the satellite’s third stage.
It promised to try again in October.
“The flights of the first and second stages of the rocket were normal, but the launch failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight”, state-run KCNA reported of Thursday’s attempt.
South Korean military stated it spotted the launch from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at about 3:50 a.m. local time (18:50 GMT on Wednesday) and tracked the rocket as it traversed international airspace over the Yellow Sea.
Residents of Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa got emergency warnings around 10 minutes later, advising them to seek shelter indoors. After around 20 minutes, the emergency alert was withdrawn.
According to Japanese station NHK, some of the debris may have landed in the Pacific, near the Philippines.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s plan to modernize the country’s military and build cutting-edge weapons including the development of spy satellites.
The first launch attempt, in May, also failed, with officials describing it as their gravest failure and promising to try again.
Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, said the frequent missile launches posed a threat to regional security.
“We will strongly protest against North Korea and condemn it in the strongest possible terms”, he said.
The launch was also condemned by South Korea’s National Security Council, which said it violated United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibiting Pyongyang from using ballistic missile technology.
The US echoed that statement, urging North Korea to stop further threatening activity and engage in genuine diplomacy.
In a statement, a State Department spokesperson said, “Space launch vehicles [SLVs] incorporate technologies that are identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles [ICBMs]”.
South Korea’s foreign ministry stated, “During a phone call later, the foreign ministers of the three countries agreed to consider unilateral sanctions in response to the launch”.
The launch occurred just days after South Korea, Japanese, and US leaders met in Washington, DC, and as US and South Korean soldiers conducted their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military drills.
North Korea warns that such drills are a rehearsal for war.
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