The setback has not deterred the nation’s space authorities, who are determined to make another attempt come October.
This recent mishap marks the second unsuccessful effort by North Korea to launch a spy satellite, following its initial try in May, which saw the Chollima-1 rocket plunge into the sea.
The launch, executed before dawn, took place within the opening hours of an eight-day window that North Korea had initially announced for the operation. The secretive nation has expressed its ambition to place its inaugural military spy satellite in orbit, as part of a broader plan to establish a constellation of satellites aimed at surveilling the movements of U.S. and South Korean military forces.
State news agency KCNA attributed the failure of Thursday’s launch to an anomaly in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight. According to South Korea’s military, which closely monitored the mission from the North’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, the flight ended in failure, and efforts are underway to locate and potentially retrieve any debris.
The launch event triggered an emergency alert in Japan shortly before 4 a.m. local time (1900 GMT), prompting residents in Okinawa to seek shelter. Approximately 20 minutes later, the Japanese government declared that the missile had passed and consequently lifted the emergency warning.
In a press conference, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno voiced concern over the recurring missile launches, labelling them as a genuine threat to regional security. “We will strongly protest against North Korea and condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” Matsuno stated, revealing that sections of the rocket had descended into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean.
The launch garnered swift international condemnation. South Korea’s National Security Council deemed the event a provocation and a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that prohibit North Korea’s utilisation of ballistic missile technology.
The White House also denounced the launch, citing its infringement on multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. The U.S. State Department called upon North Korea to cease “further threatening activity” and urged Pyongyang to engage in earnest diplomatic discussions.
A spokesperson from the U.S. State Department emphasised that the technologies employed in space launch vehicles (SLVs) closely resemble those found in ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
