North Korea: North Korea has reportedly failed to send a military spy satellite into orbit for the second time. North Korea said that it failed because of a problem with the third stage of the rocket carrying the satellite, and it will try again for the launch in October 2023.
“The flights of the first and second stages of the rocket were normal, but the launch failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight,” state media KCNA remarked.
South Korea’s military spotted a rocket launch from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at approximately 3:50 AM local time. They monitored the rocket as it passed through international airspace above the Yellow Sea.
About 10 minutes later, people in Japan’s southernmost Okinawa prefecture received emergency alerts instructing them to seek shelter indoors. The emergency alert was cancelled approximately 20 minutes later.
According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, some of the debris may have landed in the Pacific, near the Philippines. The spy satellite is a key priority for the country to modernise its military and develop cutting-edge weapons.
The first attempt in May 2023 also failed. North Korean officials called it their “gravest failure” and promised to try again.
South Korea’s National Security Council also criticised the launch, stating that it violated United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibit Pyongyang from utilising ballistic missile technology.
The United States echoed this statement and urged North Korea to avoid any “further threatening actions” and instead participate in meaningful diplomacy.
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