2023-08-24 01:09:40
At the train station in Seoul, South Korea, on August 24, 2023, a television screen shows the archives of a rocket launch by North Korea. LEE JIN-MAN/AP
Announced several days ago, Pyongyang’s second attempt in three months to launch a spy satellite into orbit has failed.
The National Aerospace Development Administration of North Korea “conducted the second launch of the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite aboard the Chollima-1 new-type carrier rocket at the Sohae satellite launch site in Cholsan county of North Phyongan province, China. ‘dawn of August 24’said the official KCNA agency. “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”according to KCNA.
According to the agency, “the cause of the accident in question is not a major problem”and Pyongyang will conduct a third launch in October after taking corrective action.
‘Illegal’ launch
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the device was launched at around 3:50 a.m. (8:59 p.m., Wednesday, Paris time) in a southerly direction and “crossed international airspace” above the Yellow Sea. The South Korean government convened its National Security Council to condemn the launch, lamenting that North Korea “wasted scarce resources on reckless provocations while blaming subordinate officials for the economic situation that is driving his 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.
Also read: North Korea announces plans to launch satellite, raising concern in Seoul and Tokyo
Seoul called such a launch “illegal” because it violates United Nations (UN) sanctions prohibiting North Korea from carrying out tests using ballistic technology, which is employed for both space and missile launches.
A priority for Kim Jong-un
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”blasted White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
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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 coincides with “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, the name given to the large-scale US-South Korean maneuvers which began on Monday and are due to run until August 31. According to the three allies, these exercises aim to respond to the growing threats from North Korea.
“We urge North Korea to refrain from any further illegal activity and call on Pyongyang to engage in a serious and sustained diplomatic approach”said a State Department spokesman.
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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 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 estimated that the satellite had no “no military use”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made the development of a military spy satellite a priority for “to deal with the dangerous military actions of the United States and its vassals”.
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