North Korea launched a military reconnaissance satellite on Wednesday (30th, in Brasilia), triggering the use of warning sirens in South Korea and Japan, but the device fell into the sea without reaching its target. , reported Pyongyang state media.
“The launch of the new ‘Chollima-1’ satellite transport rocket crashed into the West (Yellow) Sea after losing thrust due to irregular starting of the two-stage engine,” the official KCNA news agency reported.
Prior to Pyongyang’s announcement, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff indicated that its military was looking into the launch after the device disappeared from its radars.
“The (North Korean) projectile disappeared from the radar before reaching the intended arrival point,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff told South Korean news agency Yonhap.
North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration attributed the launch failure to “the poor reliability and stability of the new engine system applied to the Chollima-1 and the unstable nature of the fuel used”.
It said it would fully investigate the “serious flaws” revealed in the satellite’s launch and would try again “as soon as possible”.
– Launch announced –
The South Korean military said it had detected and recovered a suspicious piece of the satellite in waters 200 km west of Eocheong Island.
The United States “strongly” condemned the satellite launch and warned that the act “increases tensions” in the region, said Adam Hodge, spokesman for the National Security Council.
For its part, Japan guaranteed that “the launch of a ballistic missile like this one” violates UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korea on Tuesday confirmed its plans to launch what it called the “No. 1 military reconnaissance satellite” by June 11, and that Japan had been advised of its plans.
Shortly after the launch, South Korea issued a text alert saying, “Citizens, please prepare to evacuate and allow children and elderly people to be evacuated with priority,” as sirens wailed in the center of the capital, Seoul.
But minutes later, the South Korean Ministry of the Interior acknowledged that the alert had been “incorrectly issued”, without further explanation.
Japan briefly activated its missile alert for the southern region of Okinawa on Wednesday morning and lifted it about 30 minutes later.
The “No. 1 military reconnaissance satellite” will be “launched in June” to “counter dangerous military actions by the United States and its vassals,” said Ri Pyong Chol, vice chairman of the central military commission of North Korea’s ruling party, quoted by the North Korean press. KCNA.
He indicated that the satellite, along with “various means of reconnaissance that must be tested, are indispensable for tracking, monitoring (…) and dealing in advance and in real time with the dangerous military acts of the United States and its vassal forces.”
His comment was a reference to joint US-Seoul military exercises near the Korean peninsula, which Pyongyang sees as rehearsals for an invasion.
– “Kim kept his word” –
Since long-range rockets and space launchers share the same technology, analysts believe that developing the capability to put a satellite into orbit would give Pyongyang the cover to test banned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
“Kim kept his word and launched the spy satellite today,” Soo Kim of LMI Consulting and a former CIA analyst told AFP, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“We know that Kim’s resolve does not end with this activity,” the analyst said, adding that the launch could be a “prelude to further provocations, including the nuclear test we have long speculated about.”
After breaking off talks with Washington over North Korea’s nuclear program in 2019, Pyongyang has stepped up development of its nuclear program, with a series of weapons tests including the launch of several ICBMs.
“Whether North Korea’s current satellite mission was successful or not, Pyongyang can be expected to use it as political propaganda for its space capabilities, as well as diplomatic rhetoric to drive a wedge between Seoul and Tokyo,” Leif said. -Eric Easley, professor at Ewha University, Seoul.
Since 1998, Pyongyang has launched five satellites, three of which immediately failed and two appear to have reached orbit, although their signals were never independently detected, which could be due to a malfunction.
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