North Korea's first spy satellite crashes into the sea after launch
North Korea's attempt to put the country's first spy satellite into space has failed. The rocket lost thrust due to serious engine defects and crashed into the Yellow Sea. North Korea said it would attempt another launch. Sounds of alarm were heard in South Korea and Japan.
North Korea has said that its would-be first military spy satellite crashed into the Yellow Sea after the rocket carrying it suffered an engine failure.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the rocket, which was launched on Wednesday, lost thrust due to "the abnormal staring" of the engine following first-stage separation. North Korean officials were quoted as saying they would examine "the serious defects" and attempt a repeat launch "as sson as possible".
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed that Pyongyang fired a "space launch vehicle," adding that the projectile fell around 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of the island of Eocheong.
Observers say North Korea's previous satellite launches helped improve its long-range missile technology, though the latest launch likely was more focused on deploying a spy satellite.
ALARM ACTIVATED BY MISTAKE
Wednesday's launch prompted brief evacuation alerts in South Korea and Japan.
Seoul echoed with sirens early Wednesday but government officials said the alarms were activated by mistake.
An emergency alert system also sounded warnings in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa. However, the Japanese government said the rocket did not fly over the country's territory after the alarms.
ANOTHER SPY SATELLITE TO BE LAUNCHED IN JUNE
After its unusually quick admission of failure, North Korea vowed to conduct a second launch after learning what went wrong with its rocket lift-off, Metro reported.
According to NHK, Pyongyang warned the Japanese Coast Guard on Monday that the satellite would be launched between Wednesday and June 11.
Senior North Korean official Ri Pyong-chol announced on Tuesday that Pyongyang plans to launch its first spy satellite, saying it would be fired sometime in June. Ri said the satellite was needed to counter growing hostilities from Washington and "reckless" joint military drills by the US and South Korea, South Korea News reported.
The US has stated in the past that a satellite launch by North Korea would violate the international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang's ballistic missile program.
Source: South Korea News - Metro
