North Korea’s attempt to send a military reconnaissance satellite into space failed on Wednesday when the rocket’s second stage malfunctioned, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that Pyongyang plans to carry out a second launch asap.
North Korea is not giving up. Another attempt to send a military satellite into space
“The new Chollima-1 satellite vehicle rocket crashed into the West Sea because it lost propulsion due to an abnormal start of the second stage engine after the first stage separated during normal flight,” KCNA said.
The report stated that the “reliability and stability of the new engine system” was “poor” and the fuel used “unstable”, leading to the mission failure.
North Korea’s National Space Development Agency said it would “urgently” investigate the failure and conduct another launch after new tests, KCNA reported.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had identified an object believed to be part of what North Korea claims is its space launch vehicle in the sea about 200 kilometers west of Eocheong Island around 8:05, and is in the process of getting it, writes CNN.
Air raid sirens in Seoul
Earlier, South Korea’s military said Pyongyang had fired a “space missile”, triggering emergency alerts in Seoul and Japan, weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to prepare for the launch of its first satellite military reconnaissance of the country.
Both countries later canceled these alerts when it became clear that there was no danger to civilian areas from the North Korean launch.
Analysts said Wednesday morning’s events illustrated problems for both North and South Korea, for Pyongyang over its space program and for Seoul over its public alert process.
“North Korea’s space efforts have consistently failed, indicating that while its military ballistic capabilities are being developed, its space launch capabilities are not advancing at the same rate of development,” said Malcolm Davis, senior analyst at The Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
