Pyongyang has failed for a second time to launch a spy satellite into orbit, according to an Aug. 24 North Korean state media report.
“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,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the regime’s mouthpiece, said of the launch.
The North’s space agency, the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA), said it used the new-model carrier rocket Chollima-1 to put the reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1 into orbit. It added that “the cause of the relevant accident is not a big issue in terms of the reliability of cascade engines and the system.”
Pyongyang is promising a third attempt at the launch in October in its efforts to place its first military spy satellite into orbit, part of a plan to have a fleet of satellites to monitor U.S. and South Korean troops.
“NADA expressed the stand that it would conduct the third reconnaissance satellite launch in October after thoroughly probing the reason and taking measures,” KCNA reported.
US, South Korea, Japan Condemn Launch
The White House condemned nuclear-armed North Korea’s launch as having violated multiple resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.
It said that the door “has not closed” on diplomacy, but added that Pyongyang “must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement.”
The White House further stated that the United States is committed to taking all essential steps to guarantee its security and to defend its allies, South Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department pressed North Korea to desist from “further threatening activity.”
“Space launch vehicles (SLVs) incorporate technologies that are identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs),” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
South Korea separately confirmed Pyongyang’s latest launch was a failure. The South Korean military, which said it tracked the flight from the launch at Pyongyang’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, is now looking to salvage any wreckage.
South Korea recovered part of Pyongyang’s failed rocket in its first launch, including the satellite payload. At the time, Seoul said the rocket didn’t appear to have military capability.
Seoul’s National Security Council condemned the North Korean launch, saying it violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban ballistic missile technology.
Japan issued an emergency warning just before 4 a.m. local time over its J-alert broadcasting system in response to the launch. Residents of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa were told to take cover. The emergency warning was lifted after 20 minutes, alongside a notice that the missile had passed.
Japan, like the United States, condemned the launch, with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno saying at a televised news conference that Pyongyang’s repeated missile launches pose a threat to regional security.
“We will strongly protest against North Korea and condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” he said.
He noted that parts of the rocket fell into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.
The launch came three days after annual U.S. and South Korean military drills, which North Korea asserts are a rehearsal for invasion. According to North Korea’s state media, the 11-day joint exercises increase the probability of a nuclear conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea has tried several times to send “earth observation” satellites into space, with two that appeared to have been successful, one of which was in 2016. The 2016 satellite, according to international observers, seemed controlled, although doubts persist regarding its transmission activities.
