North Korea launched a solid fueled Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, April 13, 2023, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The Japanese government is warning people in Okinawa prefecture to take shelter immediately after North Korea launched an apparent missile Wednesday morning, May 31, 2023. (KCNA)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — North Korea’s first military spy satellite, launched Wednesday, failed in-flight and crashed after the rocket’s engine lost thrust, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The rocket lost power after the “abnormal starting” of a second-stage engine during the flight, KCNA announced hours after the launch. The “unstable character of the fuel used” was behind the failure, according to a spokesman for the North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration quoted by KCNA.
A second satellite launch will be conducted as soon as possible, the report added.
The space launch vehicle lifted off at 6:29 a.m. from North Pyongan Province, about 70 miles north of Pyongyang, and flew south over Baengnyeongdo, an island near the Northern Limit Line that marks the westernmost point of South Korea, according to a text message from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It flew “abnormally” before falling into the Yellow Sea about 125 miles west of South Korea’s Eocheong Island and 100 miles southwest of Seoul. The South Korean military salvaged an object that is presumed the be part of the space launch vehicle, according to the Joint Chiefs.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, in a statement Tuesday evening in Hawaii, called the launch a “brazen violation” of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“This launch involved technologies that are directly related to [North Korea’s] intercontinental ballistic missile program,” the command said. “We are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners.”
South Korea and Japan issued take-cover and evacuation warnings following the launch.
The nation’s capital, Seoul, sent a phone alert around 6:30 a.m. urging residents to prepare for evacuation. About that time, the Japanese government alerted people in Okinawa prefecture to remain indoors or go underground.
Japan’s order was rescinded by 7:04 a.m. Seoul’s evacuation alert was made in error, South Korea’s Ministry of Interior and Safety announced at 6:41 a.m.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters at his office that no damage has been reported but declined to provide further information.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday that the regime planned to launch a “military reconnaissance satellite” to track assets from the U.S. military and its allies.
The plan prompted Japan’s Ministry of Defense to issue warnings for ships in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and waters east of the Philippines between Wednesday and June 11. The ministry said the Self-Defense Forces would intercept the projectile using ships equipped with missile-defense systems if it threatened Japanese citizens.
North Korea “will have to bear the price and pain it deserves” if it goes ahead with the launch, the South’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned in a statement Monday.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday described the planned launch as “unlawful activity.” Despite Pyongyang claiming that the payload is a satellite, the launch vehicle uses the same technology as a ballistic missile and would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, a statement said.
Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto in Tokyo contributed to this report, which will be updated.
