North Korea announced on Thursday that its second attempt in three months to put a spy satellite into orbit had failed and vowed to try again in October.
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North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration “performed the second launch of the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite aboard the novel Chollima-1 launch vehicle at dawn on Aug. 24 at the Sohae satellite launch site in Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province. ‘ reported the official KCNA news agency.
“Phases one and two of the rocket’s flight were normal, but the launch failed due to a failure in the emergency firing system during phase three of flight,” KCNA said.
According to the agency, “the cause of the accident in question does not pose a major problem,” and Pyongyang will conduct a third launch in October after taking corrective action.
AFP
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida first announced on X (ex-Twitter) that Pyongyang had fired “a suspected ballistic missile” that entered Japanese airspace near the Okinawa archipelago.
South Korea’s chiefs of staff then said, quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap agency, that Pyongyang “launched what the North says fired a launcher.”
The plane took off in a southerly direction and “crossed international airspace” over the Yellow Sea, he said.
“Our army remains on high alert in coordination with the United States while strengthening our security level,” the South Korean staff added.
On Tuesday, Pyongyang had told Japan the launch would take place between August 24 and 31, prompting Tokyo to mobilize ships and put its PAC-3 missile defense system on alert.
Seoul has called such a launch “illegal” as it violates UN sanctions banning North Korea from conducting ballistic technology tests used for both space and missile launches.
The shooting came days after a summit of US, South Korean and Japanese leaders in the United States at which North Korea’s nuclear threats were on the agenda.
According to Washington, this launch would violate UN Security Council resolutions.
AFP
“We urge North Korea to refrain from further illegal activities and call on Pyongyang to engage seriously and sustainably in diplomacy,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
On May 31, North Korea attempted to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite, but the launch vehicle crashed into the Yellow Sea minutes after launch.
The South Korean army had finally recovered parts of the rocket and satellite after a complex 36-day operation at sea. After being examined by South Korean and American experts, the South Korean Ministry of Defense estimated that the satellite had “no military use”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made the development of a military spy satellite a priority to “counter dangerous military actions by the United States and its vassals.”
Washington and Seoul, in turn, suspect Pyongyang of developing a new ICBM that has technologies similar to those used in a satellite launcher.
This new launch by Pyongyang coincides with the Ulchi Freedom Shield, as the large-scale maneuvers between the US and South Korea are called, which began Monday and are scheduled to last until August 31.
According to the three allies, these exercises are aimed at responding to the growing threat from North Korea, which has nuclear weapons.