SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s bid to put its first spy satellite into space failed Wednesday, in a setback for leader Kim Jong Un’s efforts to boost his military capabilities as tensions escalate with the United States and South Korea.
After an unusually quick admission of failure, North Korea has vowed to conduct a second launch after learning what went wrong. This suggests that Kim remains determined to expand his arsenal and put more pressure on Washington and Seoul while diplomacy stalls.
South Korea and Japan briefly urged residents in some areas to take shelter after the launch.
The South Korean military said it was rescuing an object presumed to be part of a North Korean missile that crashed in waters 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the southwestern island of Icheongdo. Later, the Department of Defense released photos of a white metal cylinder that it described as part of a suspected missile.
North Korea’s launch of a satellite is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit the country from conducting any launch that relies on ballistic technology. Observers say North Korea’s previous satellite launches helped improve long-range missile technology. North Korea’s long-range missile tests in recent years have shown it can reach all parts of the continental United States, but outside experts say the North still has some work to do to develop effective nuclear missiles.
The newly developed Chollima-1 rocket launched at 6:37 am at the Sohae Satellite Launch Base in the northwest, carrying the Malligyong-1 satellite. The official North Korean Central News Agency said that the missile fell off the western coast of the Korean peninsula after losing power after the separation of its first and second stages.
South Korea’s military said the missile made an “abnormal flight” before hitting the water. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters he did not believe any object had reached space.
North Korean media said the Korean space agency would investigate what it called “serious defects revealed” by the launch and conduct a second launch as soon as possible.
said Lev Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “This outcome also indicates that Pyongyang may launch another provocation soon, in part to make up for the current setback.”
Adam Hodge, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said in a statement that Washington strongly condemns North Korea’s launch because it used banned ballistic missile technology, increased tensions and threatened to destabilize security in the region and beyond.
The United Nations imposed economic sanctions on North Korea over its past launches of satellites and ballistic missiles, but it has not responded to the latest tests because China and Russia, two permanent members of the Security Council now locked in confrontations with the United States, have blocked attempts to tighten sanctions.
Seoul’s military said it had beefed up military readiness in coordination with the United States, and Japan said it was ready to respond to any emergency. The United States said it would take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and the defense of South Korea and Japan.
After the launch was revealed, the South Korean government sent out mobile phone text messages urging residents of a front-line island off the west coast to move to safer places. Officials in the capital, Seoul, issued similar phone messages to residents of the city, but the country’s Ministry of Interior and Safety later said the alerts were sent in error. The Seoul mayor apologized for causing public confusion.
Japan has activated a missile warning system for Okinawa Prefecture in southwestern Japan, in the suspected trajectory of the missile. The Japanese warning read: “Please evacuate buildings or underground areas.”
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Japan plans to keep missile defense systems deployed on its southern islands and in southwestern waters until June 11, the end of North Korea’s announced launch window.
The Korean Central News Agency did not provide details about the missile or satellite other than their names. Experts said earlier that North Korea would likely use a liquid-fueled missile as most of its previously tested long-range missiles have done.
Although it plans to conduct a full investigation, the North’s National Aerospace Development Administration attributed the failure to the “low reliability and stability of the new-type engine system applied to the (rocket) carrier” and the “unstable character of the fuel,” according to KCNA.
On Tuesday, Ri Byong-chol, a senior North Korean official, said that North Korea needs a reconnaissance system in space to counter rising security threats from South Korea and the United States.
However, the spy satellite previously shown in the state-run media was not advanced enough to produce high-resolution images. Some outside experts said it might be able to detect troop movements and large targets like warships and warplanes.
Recent commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Sohae Launch Center has shown active construction indicating that North Korea plans to launch more than one satellite. In his statement on Tuesday, Ri also said that North Korea will test “various reconnaissance means” to monitor the movements of the United States and its allies in real time.
With three to five spy satellites, North Korea could build a space monitoring system that would allow it to monitor the Korean peninsula in near real time, according to Lee Chun-gyun, an emeritus research fellow at the Institute for Science and Technology Policy in South Korea.
The satellite is one of the high-tech weapon systems that Kim has publicly pledged to provide. Other weapons on his wish list include a multiple warhead missile, a nuclear submarine, a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile and a hypersonic missile. On his visit to the space agency in mid-May, Kim emphasized the strategic importance of a spy satellite in the standoff between North Korea, the United States, and South Korea.
Prof Easley said Kim likely increased pressure on his scientists and engineers to launch the spy satellite after rival South Korea successfully launched its first commercial satellite aboard a domestically made Nuri rocket earlier this month.
South Korea is expected to launch its first spy satellite later this year, and analysts say Kim likely wants his country to launch its own spy satellite before the South to bolster his military credentials at home.
After repeated failures, North Korea successfully put its first satellite into orbit in 2012, and the second in 2016. The government said they were both Earth observation satellites launched under the Peaceful Space Development Program, but many foreign experts believe they were launched. Develop both to spy on competitors. .
Observers say there is no evidence that satellites have transmitted images to North Korea.
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Associated Press writer Mary Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
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