North Korea's spy satellite: Amid its growing tensions with South Korea and the United States, North Korea's attempt to launch the country's first 'spy satellite' into space failed on Wednesday as it fell into a sea. According to reports, this comes as a huge setback to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's push to boost his military capabilities.
The newly developed Chollima-1 rocket, which was carrying the Malligyong-1 satellite, was launched at 6:37 am at the North's Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in the northwest. The rocket reportedly crashed off the Korean Peninsula's western coast after it lost thrust following the separation of its first and second stages.
Meanwhile, North Korea pledged to conduct a second launch after learning what went wrong with its rocket liftoff, after making an unusually swift acknowledgement of failure.
North Korea vows to launch second satellite soon
According to the Korean Central News Agency, the country's space agency will investigate defects revealed in the launch, take urgent measures to overcome them and conduct the second launch as soon as possible through various part tests.
“It is impressive when the North Korean regime actually admits failure, but it would be difficult to hide the fact of a satellite launch failure internationally, and the regime will likely offer a different narrative domestically,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said.
Seoul's military said it boosted military readiness in coordination with the United States, and Japan said it prepared to respond to any emergency. After the launch, South Korea and Japan briefly advised locals to seek shelter.
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North Korean rocket had 'abnormal flight'
South Korea's military said the North Korean rocket had "an abnormal flight" before it fell into the water. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that no object was believed to have reached space.
However, the South Korean military said it was retrieving an object presumed to be part of the crashed North Korean rocket in waters 200 kilometres west of the southwestern island of Eocheongdo. Later, the Defense Ministry released photos of a white, metal cylinder it described as a suspected rocket part.
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It should be mentioned here that a satellite launch by North Korea is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from conducting any launch based on ballistic technology. Observers say North Korea's previous satellite launches helped improve its long-range missile technology, though the latest launch likely was more focused on deploying a spy satellite.
(With AP inputs)
