North Korea announced on Thursday that its second attempt in three months to put a spy satellite into orbit had failed, and promised to try again in October.
According to the official KCNA agency, this “second launch of the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite aboard the new type carrier rocket Chollima-1” took place at dawn on August 24 in Sohae, Phyongan province of the North.
“Phases one and two of the rocket’s flight were normal, but the launch failed due to an error in the emergency firing system during the third phase of flight,” KCNA said.
According to the agency, “the cause of the accident in question is not a major problem” and Pyongyang will carry out a third launch in October after taking corrective measures.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the craft was launched around 3:50 a.m. (6:50 p.m. GMT Wednesday) heading south and “crossed international airspace” over the Yellow Sea.
The South Korean government convened its National Security Council to condemn the launch, lamenting that North Korea was “wasting scarce resources on reckless provocations while blaming junior officials for the economic situation that is leading its people to starvation and death”.
“We have confirmed that nothing was put into Earth orbit during the launch this time around, so we consider it a failure,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “Nevertheless, such behavior goes against UN resolutions and we have already strongly protested,” he added.
Mr. Kishida had previously indicated that the projectile had passed through Japanese airspace, above the Okinawa archipelago.
On Tuesday, Pyongyang had told Japan that the launch would take place between August 24 and 31, prompting Tokyo to mobilize ships and put its PAC-3 missile defense system on alert.
“Illegal”
Seoul has called such a launch “illegal” because it violates UN sanctions barring North Korea from testing using ballistic technology, which is employed for both space and missile launches.
Despite its failure, this launch constitutes a “flagrant violation of several UN Security Council resolutions, aggravates tensions, and increases the risk of destabilization of the security situation in the region and beyond”, castigated the door. – White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
The shooting came days after US, South Korean and Japanese leaders held a summit in the United States, with North Korea’s nuclear threats on the agenda.
It also coincides with Ulchi Freedom Shield, large-scale US-South Korean maneuvers that began Monday and are due to run until August 31. According to the allies, these exercises aim to respond to the growing threats from North Korea.
On May 31, North Korea attempted to launch what it described as its first military reconnaissance satellite. But the rocket carrying it crashed into the Yellow Sea a few minutes after takeoff.
The South Korean army, after a complex 36-day operation at sea, had finally recovered parts of the rocket and the satellite. After examination by South Korean and American experts, the South Korean Ministry of Defense considered that the satellite had “no military utility”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made the development of a military spy satellite a priority to “address the dangerous military actions of the United States and its vassals”.
“Even if it is a failure, the theft has progressed compared to the previous attempt”, estimated with AFP Joseph Dempsey, researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“Space is difficult,” he added.
“It’s important to keep in mind that engineers learn from failures,” said Jeffrey Lewis, non-proliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, who said failures in the third phase of a launch are “common”.
“Many of the first American Redstone rockets failed,” he recalled. “They finally understood, and North Korea will do the same.”
2023-08-24 00:24:15
#North #Korea #announces #failed #spy #satellite #launch
