North Korea’s spy satellite plunges into sea after rocket failure

Kathmandu:  North Korea has confirmed that the launch of spy satellite ended in failure on Wednesday, sending the booster and payload plunging into the sea.

North Korea’s attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite failed when the second stage of the rocket failed, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that Pyongyang planned to carry out a second launch as soon as possible.

‘The new satellite vehicle rocket, Chollima-1, crashed into the West Sea ​​as it lost propulsion due to an abnormal startup of the engine on the 2nd stage after the 1st stage was separated during normal flight,’ KCNA said.

The flight was the nuclear-armed state’s sixth satellite launch attempt, and the first since 2016. It was supposed to put North Korea’s first spy satellite in orbit.

It prompted emergency alerts and brief evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan. The notices were withdrawn with no danger or damage reported.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday the military was conducting a salvage operation to recover what is believed to be parts of the space launch vehicle. The military shared pictures of debris pulled from the water.

Officials from the United States, Japan, South Korea held a phone call, where they ‘strongly condemned’ the launch, Japan’s foreign ministry said. ‘The three countries will stay vigilant with high sense of urgency,’ the statement said.

North Korea had earlier said that it would launch its first military reconnaissance satellite between May 31 and June 11 to boost monitoring of US military activities.

South Korea last week placed satellites in orbit with a domestically designed and produced rocket for the first time, and China sent three astronauts to its space station as part of crew rotation on Tuesday.