North Korea has said an attempt to put the country’s first spy satellite into orbit has failed, according to state media.
The rocket carrying the satellite crashed into the waters off the western coast of the Korean Peninsula after losing momentum after the initial stages.
Scientists are studying the cause of the failure, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the South Korean military has announced that it is recovering the alleged remains of the satellite.
“At around 08:05 this Wednesday (0005 GMT), our military identified an object believed to be part of the ‘space launch vehicle’ claimed by North Korea in the waters 200 kilometers west of the Eocheong Island and is in the process of recapturing it,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The rocket was launched at around 6:30 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. Tuesday in Lisbon) from the northwestern area of Tongchang-ri, where North Korea’s main space launch center is located, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. from South Korea. .
Seoul said the rocket had “an abnormal flight” before hitting the water. South Korea also said it was militarily prepared, in coordination with the United States.
Japanese government secretary general Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that no objects had reached space.
The North Korean launch led to evacuation orders in South Korea and Japan.
The South Korean capital Seoul issued alerts via public speaker and text messages to mobile phones, telling residents to be prepared to leave their homes. However, there was no significant damage or disturbance and Seoul ended up raising the alert.
Japanese authorities also activated the missile warning system for Okinawa Prefecture in southwestern Japan, which was believed to be in the path of the missile.
A senior North Korean official, quoted by the Associated Press (AP) news agency, said on Tuesday that the country needed a space reconnaissance system to deal with growing threats from South Korea and the United States.
Washington strongly condemned Pyongyang for the launch, which used ballistic missile technology, in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, “appeals to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [nome oficial da Coreia do Norte] resume diplomatic efforts towards sustainable peace and complete and verifiable denuclearization on the Korean peninsula,” said the spokesman for the head of the international organization, Stéphane Dujarric, in a statement on Tuesday.
“Any launch using ballistic missile technology would be contrary to the relevant Security Council resolutions,” he concluded.
Source: TSF
