North Korean’s news agency KCNA said a second attempt to launch a spy satellite into orbit failed early Thursday.
As with the first attempted launch on May 31, North Korea’s Chollima-1 rocket meant to carry the Malligyeong-1 reconnaissance satellite into space failed amid the launch.
According to KCNA, the failure was due to “an error in the emergency explosion system,” though Thursday’s failure occurred during the third stage of the launch rather than the second stage as was the case back in May.
In December North Korea said it had launched a test satellite in advance of the spy satellite’s launch. Pyongyang released low-resolution, black-and-white photos showing a space view of Seoul, the South Korean capital, and Incheon, a city to its west, in an apparent show that the North was pushing to acquire high-tech surveillance against its rival neighbor.
In 2018 Pyongyang had claimed to put a satellite into space but international analysts refuted that assertion, stating that it wasn’t true.
Thursday’s second failed attempt to launch a spy satellite by North Korea came as the U.S. and South Korea were conducting joint military drills in the region.
The U.S., South Korea and Japan all issued statements “strongly” condemning North Korea’s use of ballistic missile technology to attempt its launch, which violates United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Group of Seven (G-7) economic powers—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.—also released a joint statement condemning North Korea’s failed launch attempt “in the strongest terms.
PHOTO: Part of a North Korean rocket after first failed satellite launch, May 2023, per ROK JCS
