North Korea 'Unusually' Releases Footage of Failed Satellite Launch

North Korea has released footage of the failed military reconnaissance satellite launch.

On the 1st, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) revealed images of the satellite carrier rocket "Chollima-1" taking off with flames from the Dongchang-ri launch site in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, which was launched the previous day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The launch vehicle crashed after the second-stage engine failed to ignite properly, and our military recovered the debris. It is unusual to release launch footage despite the failure.

KCNA, which published the photos, is a media outlet used by North Korea for external purposes and is inaccessible to North Korean residents.

North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration officially acknowledged the failure about two hours and 30 minutes after the launch, but related reports have not yet appeared in media accessible to residents such as Rodong Sinmun, Korean Central TV, and Korean Central Broadcasting.

The swift admission of failure and the release of launch photos confirming the satellite's presence only through external media have led to speculation that North Korea aims to emphasize that the launch vehicle was not an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or other weapon system.

Kim Yo-jong, vice director of the Workers' Party of Korea, stated in a commentary through KCNA on the same day, "If our satellite launch must be condemned, then countries that have already launched thousands of satellites, starting with the United States, should all be condemned," emphasizing that it was merely a satellite launch like other countries.

Regarding North Korea's quick acknowledgment of the failure, our government interprets it as a hope that the incident's impact will not escalate. Shin Beom-chul, Deputy Minister of National Defense, said on MBC's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" program that morning, "From North Korea's perspective, this is likely a significant internal shock," adding, "North Korea usually does not admit failures, so the fact that they acknowledged this failure and mentioned plans to relaunch soon suggests they hope the incident's impact will not grow."

He added, "(The satellite launch failure) was clearly revealed through radar and is known to the international community, so it would have been difficult for the North Korean government to deny the failure and remain silent," he said.