A military reconnaissance satellite launched by North Korea exploded in mid-air.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, a trajectory suspected to be a military reconnaissance satellite was detected around 10:44 PM on the 27th. The satellite was launched from the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province, North Korea, heading south towards the West Sea.
This trajectory was detected as multiple fragments over the North Korean seaside about two minutes later, at around 10:46 PM.
North Korea announced through its state media, KCNA, in the early morning of the 28th, “The National Aerospace Technology Development launched the reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1-1 from the Seohea Satellite Launch Site on the 27th, mounted on a new type of satellite rocket”, and “the launch failed as the rocket exploded in mid-air during the first stage of flight.”
“A preliminary conclusion has been reached that the cause of the accident lies in the reliability of the operation of the newly developed liquid oxygen and petroleum engine,” it added.
The official admission of failure came about 90 minutes after the launch.
This comes six months after North Korea successfully launched the military reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1 into orbit after three attempts last November. After the successful launch, North Korea had publicly pledged to launch three additional reconnaissance satellites this year.
Meanwhile, the South Korean National Security Office held a security situation review meeting, chaired by Chang Ho Jin, the National Security Adviser, around 11:40 PM on the 27th to discuss the possibility of additional North Korean provocations.
Meeting participants condemned, “North Korea’s launch of the military reconnaissance satellite is a violation of the UN Security Council resolution and a provocative act threatening the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia, and the international community, regardless of its success.”
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