North Korea spy satellite rocket falls into the sea; NK reveals cause of failure
North Korea’s attempt to put the country’s first spy satellite into space failed Wednesday in a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to boost his military capabilities as tensions with the United States and South Korea rise.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that an accident occurred during the launch of a military spy satellite. It also said Pyongyang plans to conduct a second launch as soon as possible.
The report quoted a spokesperson for the National Aerospace Development Administration as saying the failure occurred due to the low stability of a new-type engine system and the unstable character of the fuel used.
North Korea vowed to conduct a second launch after learning what went wrong with its rocket liftoff. It suggests Kim remains determined to expand his weapons arsenal and apply more pressure on Washington and Seoul while diplomacy is stalled.
It said experts and others “would thoroughly investigate the serious defects revealed in the satellite launch” and urgently take measures.
The news agency reported North Korea’s NADA launched a military reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, mounted on a new-type carrier rocket, Chollima-1, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground at 6:27 a.m. on Wednesday as scheduled.
A satellite launch by North Korea is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the country from conducting any launch based on ballistic technology. Observers say North Korea’s previous satellite launches helped improve its long-range missile technology. North Korean long-range missile tests in recent years demonstrated a potential range that could reach all of the continental U.S., but outside experts say the North Korea still has some work to do to obtain functioning nuclear missiles.
LENS, AP
