IRIA News

North Korea failed to put its first spy satellite in space after its much-trumpeted rocket launch suffered malfunction mid-flight on May 31, 2023, triggering air raid sirens in the neighboring countries.

North Korea had announced that it plans to launch a spy satellite to monitor the U.S. military activities around its territories. A twelve-day launch window was given by Pyongyang starting from May 31 to June 11, 2023.

The launch attempt was condemned by neighboring countries of South Korea and Japan as a violation of international agreements; however, Pyongyang is determined to carry out the next attempt as soon as possible.

North Korea launched a Chollima-1 rocket carrying the Malligyong-1 spy satellite. The rocket was launched from the Sohae Satellite Launching Grounds. Alarms were prompted in the South Korean capital of Seoul and Japan’s Okinawa Island as soon as the launch was detected. Chaos and confusion spread across the major cities as people woke up to the sounds of air raid sirens and messages alerting them to an emergency evacuation.

Soon after its launch, the rocket vanished from South Korean radars after suffering mid-flight malfunction and was reported to have fallen about 200 kilometers from the island of Eocheongdo close to the point where the exclusive economic zones of China and South Korea meet.

South Korean forces conducted a diving operation in the region to salvage the parts of the fallen rocket. South Korean Defense Ministry released photos from the salvage operation, showing a large cylindrical object being taken out of the water.

North Korea’s state-owned media outlet KCNA reported that the rocket crashed after “it lost momentum due to abnormal start-up of the two-stage engine after one step separation while flying normally.” KCNA also reported that North Korean forces are trying to salvage the rocket from the sea to determine the main cause of failure before attempting the second launch.

The recent rocket flight was North Korea’s sixth attempt to put a satellite into space, and the first one since 2016. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that they are expecting another rocket launch from North Korea before June 11.

Following the launch, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said North Korea appeared to have fired a ballistic missile and that the government was analyzing it. He added that there were currently no reports of damage caused by the fallen rocket. Japan said previously it was ready to shoot down anything that threatened its territory.

The United States also joined Japan and South Korea in condemning North Korea’s recent launch. The U.S. National Security Spokesperson Adam Hodge said that the rocket launch was a “brazen violation” of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

Under the United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea, Pyongyang is prohibited to carry out space launches as such activity can be used as a cover for testing long-range ballistic missile technology.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres condemned the move, saying any launch by Pyongyang using ballistic missile technology was “contrary” to the relevant security council resolutions.

Space race in the Korean Peninsula

Along with the rising military tension between the two rival countries, a new wave of the space race has started in the Korean Peninsula. Seoul and Pyongyang are making rapid progress in improving their space technologies and putting satellites into space.

Last week, South Korea successfully launched its first homegrown space rocket carrying 8 commercial satellites. Nuri rocket, also called KSLV-II, took off from Naro Space Center on the southern coast of South Korea.

North Korea, on the other hand, is focused on using the space front to improve the country’s reconnaissance capabilities. Pyongyang’s missiles and rocket-building capabilities demonstrate that it can send a satellite into space, however, many experts have questioned whether the North Korean military has access to sophisticated reconnaissance equipment, especially high-resolution cameras for the spy satellite.