Just hours after announcing that it would launch a rocket carrying a “reconnaissance satellite” into orbit sometime over the next eight days—in violation of multiple U.N. sanctions—North Korea saw its rocket and payload explode on May 27 after an attempted launch.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, a midair explosion of an unidentified projectile occurred during the first-stage of the flight. North Korea’s state media outlet Korean Central News Agency said that the rocket carrying its spy satellite, which was launched from its main northwestern space center, exploded shortly after liftoff due to a suspected engine problem.
North Korea said it would be launching a rocket carrying a “military reconnaissance satellite” sometime over the next eight days before June 4. It was met with staunch criticism from both South Korea and Japan during the trilateral meeting.
Mr. Yoon said that if the North went ahead with its launch, the action would be in direct violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban North Korea’s Kim regime from launches using ballistic missile technology, and would further compromise global peace and stability.
“All launches using ballistic missile technology directly violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and undermine regional and global peace and stability. If North Korea proceeds with the launch despite international warnings, I believe the international community must respond firmly,” the South Korean leader said during the meeting held at the former presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae.
Mr. Yoon’s concerns were shared by Prime Minister Kishida, who also called on Pyongyang to end its pursuits.
“North Korea has once again announced the launch of a satellite. If it proceeds, it will be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. We strongly urge North Korea to cease this activity,” Mr. Kishida said via a translator.
Meanwhile, the Chinese premier emphasized the significance of cooperation between countries, by what he referred to as upholding the spirit of “openness and inclusivity.”
“We will promote the full resumption of trilateral cooperation with an open attitude and transparent measures based on principles of nonexclusivity and nondiscrimination,” Mr. Li said through a translator.
South Korea also responded to North Korea’s announcement about its planned satellite launch with air drills, involving F-35A fighters, local media reported. North Korea then responded with a missile launch, which triggered the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office to issue an emergency warning for residents on the island of Okinawa to take cover.
Cover for Long-Range Missile Testing
After the rocket launch, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara called the North’s actions a “serious challenge to the entire world.”North Korea’s neighboring countries, bar China, have long voiced concerns that Pyongyang’s rocket launches are a cover for testing of long-range missile technology.
The United States also responded to the announcement in comments to Yonhap, calling on North Korea to not engage in further “unlawful” activities and instead return to “serious dialogue” with its neighbors.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command added that the rocket launch “involved technologies that are directly related to the DPRK intercontinental ballistic missile program,” referring to North Korea by its official name.
It called Pyongyang’s actions “a brazen violation of multiple unanimous U.N. Security Council resolutions” that “raises tensions, and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond.”
Commitment to Denuclearization and Peace
The trilateral summit was the first such meeting between South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese leaders in five years.The session also involved discussions on other ways to promote enhanced cooperation, specifically delving into six factors, which include economy and trade, sustainable development, health issues, science and technology, disaster and safety management, as well as people-to-people exchanges.
A joint statement on the outcome of the summit was issued by the three attending leaders, reaffirming their commitment to promote peace, denuclearization, and a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue.
North Korea condemned the joint statement, particularly the statement about denuclearization, saying it was “wanton interference in its internal affairs.”
