SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea failed Wednesday in its attempt to launch its first spy satellite into space, state media reported, dealing a blow to the nuclear-weapon state’s efforts to strengthen its military capabilities in a context of growing tensions with the United States and its neighbours. .
The newly developed Chollima-1 rocket, which carried the Malligyong-1 spy satellite, was launched as scheduled at 6:27 a.m. (5:27 p.m. Tuesday ET), according to North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, from Sohae Satellite Launch. Land in the northwest of the country.
It then crashed into the sea off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula “after losing thrust due to the abnormal start of the second stage engine”, KCNA said, in an unusually candid acknowledgment of the failure of the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration said it would investigate what happened and address any shortcomings before carrying out another launch as soon as possible, KCNA said.
South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said they were in the process of recovering the potential wreckage of the vehicle from waters about 200 km west of South Korea’s Eocheong Island. Photos shared by the South Korean Ministry of Defense showed some of the debris that had been recovered.
In a trilateral phone call, the United States, Japan and South Korea strongly condemned the North Korean launch, which was based on ballistic missile technology and violated United Nations Security Council resolutions. The three countries are closely monitoring the situation “with great vigilance”, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement summarizing the appeal.
South Korea and Japan said they were monitoring possible additional launches.
“North Korea has always shown its intention to strengthen its nuclear and missile capabilities, and we believe it is possible that it will continue to launch various types of missiles, conduct nuclear tests and engage in other provocations in the future,” said the Japanese leader. Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
While details are still being analyzed, Matsuno said, the rocket does not appear to have reached space and no damage has been reported.
In response to the launch, South Korea issued a text alert on Wednesday morning telling residents of Seoul, the capital, to prepare to evacuate, but the country’s interior ministry later said it would was an error.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon apologized for the confusion, but said the alert was sent out of caution, noting that unlike previous occasions, North Korea has rushed south instead. than to the east.
Japan also issued an emergency warning in southern Okinawa prefecture before lifting it later.
North Korea said Tuesday it planned to launch what it said was a military spy satellite between May 31 and June 11, in part to monitor what KCNA called “dangerous military acts by states.” States and their vassal forces”.
Last week, the U.S. and South Korean militaries held large-scale live-fire drills near the border with North Korea, the first of five rounds by mid-June. North Korea sees these exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion, which the United States and South Korea deny.
North Korea is banned by United Nations sanctions from testing long-range and ballistic missiles.
The country has launched such missiles several times anyway, including in April when it said it tested a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. The country has also carried out six nuclear tests and is preparing for a seventh.
North Korea and South Korea technically remain in a state of conflict, after the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. South Korea, which successfully launched its first commercial-grade satellite last week, is expected to launch its own spy satellite later this year.
In a statement, the US National Security Council called on North Korea to resume denuclearization negotiations, stalled since early 2019.
“The door has not closed on diplomacy but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and choose engagement instead,” NSC spokesman Adam Hodge said.
Hodge said the United States would take “all necessary steps” to protect the American homeland as well as its allies South Korea and Japan.