North Korea announced Wednesday, through state media, that the launch of a space vehicle to try to put a spy satellite into orbit has failed, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
The launch of the space vehicle, identified by Japan as a “presumed ballistic missile” and by South Korea as a long-range rocket, failed due to an error in the third stage, the North’s KCNA news agency reported.
Pyongyang’s space agency also announced a new attempt to put the satellite into orbit by October.
North Korea explained that its Malligyong-1 spy satellite was launched aboard a new type of space rocket, called Chollima-1, and that although the first and second phases passed “normally”, in the third there was a ” error in the emergency”. propulsion system”.
The North Korean Space Development Agency added that “the cause of the accident is not a major problem in terms of engine reliability” and that it will carry out the new launch “after thoroughly investigating the causes,” according to information from KCNA, quoted by Yonhap. .
On Tuesday, North Korea informed Japan of its intention to launch a satellite in the coming days, after an earlier test failed three months ago.
On May 31, a rocket billed by Pyongyang as a military observation satellite launch crashed into the Yellow Sea shortly after liftoff, with North Korean authorities citing a technical problem.
Pyongyang explained that it intends to “confront the dangerous military actions of the United States and its vassals.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has prioritized the development of a military spy satellite. Washington and Seoul, for their part, suspect that Pyongyang is developing a new intercontinental ballistic missile, which incorporates technology similar to that of a satellite launcher.
The launch announcement coincides with large-scale exercises between the United States and South Korea, which began on Monday and will run through August 31.
Source: TSF
