North Korea says spy satellite launch fails

North Korea

Published: 31 May. 2023, 08:51 Updated: 31 May. 2023, 11:06

North Korea says spy satellite launch fails

Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central News Agency released this photo of what it called an “important final-stage test” for a military reconnaissance satellite taking place at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, on Dec. 18, 2022. [YONHAP]

North Korea's projectile launch Wednesday morning ended in failure after the rocket crashed into the sea, according to its state media.

"The new satellite vehicle rocket, Chollima-1, crashed into the West Sea as it lost propulsion due to an abnormal startup of the engine on the 2nd stage after the 1st stage was separated during normal flight," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said in an English report.

The North's state space agency will "conduct a second launch as soon as possible," the report said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier Wednesday that the projectile, described as a space launch vehicle, "fell into the sea approximately 200 kilometers west of Eocheong Island," located in the Yellow Sea 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of the North Jeolla coast.

The JCS also said at the time that an "accident" or mechanical error had probably occurred during the launch and that North Korea would likely attempt a second launch "soon."

A South Korean military official speaking on condition of anonymity also told reporters earlier that the projectile disappeared from the South's radar systems, going out of the predicted trajectory.

Wednesday's projectile marks the first time in seven years that the North has attempted to launch a satellite payload into orbit.

The last was the Kwangmyongsong-4 in February 2016, which the North claimed was an Earth observation satellite.

The North announced in December that it had conducted an "important final-stage test" for a military reconnaissance satellite, which it said would launch into orbit by April.

The North is barred from conducting any launches that employ ballistic missile technology, including that of satellites, under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]