North Korea announced on Monday that its attempt to launch a new military spy satellite failed after a newly developed rocket engine exploded in flight.
The attempt occurred just hours after Pyongyang warned that it would try to launch a satellite by June 4, which would have been its second spy satellite in orbit.
Instead, the launch marked the nuclear-armed North’s latest failure, following two earlier horrific accident crashes last year. It successfully launched its first spy satellite into orbit in November.
The deputy director general of North Korea’s National Aerospace Technology Administration stated, “The launch of the new satellite carrier rocket failed when it exploded in mid-air during the flight of the first stage”.
An initial investigation revealed that the cause was a newly developed liquid fuel rocket motor, but other possibilities were being considered.
Officials from South Korea and Japan had already indicated that the launch appeared to have failed.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported, “North Korea fired the projectile on a southern path off its west coast at around 10:44 p.m. (1344 GMT)”.
The JCS reported finding a considerable amount of rocket debris in the sea within two minutes after launch.
According to the Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, North Korea’s object disappeared over the Yellow Sea.
“These launches are in violation of relevant security council resolutions and are a serious matter concerning the safety of our people”, Hayashi continued.
“The United States condemned the launch, which incorporated technologies that are directly related to the DPRK’s ballistic missile program and took place in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions”, stated a State Department spokesperson.
The launch came hours after China, South Korea, and Japan concluded a rare three-way summit in Seoul.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged North Korea to cancel the launch. Chinese Premier Li Qiang did not address the launch but did call on all sides to reduce tensions on the peninsula.
NHK, a Japanese public broadcaster, displayed the video of what seemed to be an orange dot flying into the night sky and then bursting into flames near the Chinese-North Korea border.
The launch triggered public advisories in several parts of Japan, which were eventually rescinded once would not fly over the islands.
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