North Korean’s spy satellite launch fails, explodes shortly after liftoff

Development a setback for leader Kim Jong Un's hopes to field satellites to monitor the US and South Korea

Seoul: A rocket launched by North Korea to deploy the country’s second spy satellite exploded shortly after liftoff, state media reported, in a setback for leader Kim Jong Un’s hopes to field satellites to monitor the US and South Korea.

Monday’s failed launch came hours after leaders of South Korea, China and Japan met in Seoul in their first trilateral meeting in more than four years. It’s highly unusual for North Korea to take provocative action when China, its major ally and economic pipeline, is engaging in high-level diplomacy in the region.

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The launch drew rebukes from the North’s neighbours because the UN bans North Korea from conducting any such launches, viewing them as covers for testing long-range missile technology. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said it launched a spy satellite aboard a new rocket at its main northwestern space center. But KCNA said the rocket blew up during a first-stage flight soon after liftoff due to a suspected engine problem.

KCNA cited the unidentified vice director of the National Aerospace Technology Administration as saying that a preliminary examination showed that the explosion was related to the reliability of operation of the newly developed liquid oxygen-petroleum engine. He said other possible causes will be investigated, according to KCNA. Japan’s government briefly issued a missile warning for the southern prefecture of Okinawa, urging residents to take shelter inside buildings and other safer places. The warning was lifted later because the region was no longer in danger, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

Earlier Monday, North Korea had notified Japan’s coast guard about its planned launch with a warning to exercise caution in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and China and east of the main Philippine island of Luzon during a launch window from Monday through June 3. North Korea has steadfastly maintained it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles.

Japanese Defence Minister Minoru Kihara called the North’s launch “a serious challenge to the entire world.” South Korea’s Unification Ministry called a satellite launch by the North “a provocation that seriously threatens our and regional security.” During the trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang earlier Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for stern international action if North Korea went ahead with its launch plan.

Kishida, for his part, urged the North to withdraw its launch plan, but Li didn’t mention the launch plan as he offered general comments about promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through a political resolution.

Some observers say that North Korea’s satellite launch on the first day of its eight-day window might have been aimed at casting a chill over the Seoul-Beijing-Tokyo meeting and registering its displeasure with China.

Kim Jong Un has been embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and seeking to boost ties with Beijing and Moscow to forge a united front against Washington, so China’s diplomacy with Seoul and Tokyo might have been a disturbing development for Pyongyang.