Minister Lee Jong-seop: "Secured 2-stage launch vehicle... Others are being tracked"

"3 Organizations and Satellite Payload Section Under Continuous Estimation"

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop stated that the debris from the North Korean projectile confirmed in the West Sea is believed to be from the "second stage" of the rocket.

Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop is speaking at the full meeting of the National Defense Committee held at the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Minister Lee appeared at the National Assembly's National Defense Committee plenary session on the 1st and responded to a question from Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, saying, "We are tracking the third stage and the (satellite) payload part continuously beyond that."

When asked, "How many areas did the debris fall?" Minister Lee replied, "The area where the debris fell spans over 100 km." He added, "If the flight proceeds normally, the first stage separates, followed by the second and third stages in sequence, which is predictable. However, this time the flight was abnormal," and further explained, "There was no prior prediction for the abnormal mid-flight fall, so now we have to locate the debris."

North Korea launched one projectile southward from the Dongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province at around 6:29 a.m. the previous day, but after an abnormal flight, it fell into the sea about 200 km west of Eocheongdo.

Meanwhile, our military confirmed floating debris presumed to be part of the projectile in the fall area at around 8:05 a.m. on the same day.

A Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official told reporters that the space launch vehicle debris found in the West Sea the previous day is "about 15 meters long, with a diameter estimated to be around 2 to 3 meters," and added, "It also appears to be quite heavy."

He continued, "Currently, the projectile debris is lying horizontally on the seabed at a depth of 75 meters," and said, "Our Navy's diving personnel are conducting a salvage operation." The JCS confirmed floating debris presumed to be part of the North Korean space launch vehicle about 200 km west of Eocheongdo the previous morning.

At the time of discovery, only part of the debris was exposed above the water surface, appearing several meters long, and experts estimated it to be the connection section between the first and second stage rockets.

However, the JCS explained that the debris is actually 15 meters in total length and has now completely sunk below the water surface. The entire length of the space launch vehicle, named "Chollima-1" by North Korea, is estimated to be about 30 meters, so the discovered debris corresponds to roughly half of the whole.

The JCS deployed the 3,500-ton surface rescue ships Tongyeong (ATS-II) and Gwangyang (ATS-II) to the area where the debris sank, and plans to additionally deploy the 3,200-ton submarine rescue ship Cheonghaejin (ASR).

A JCS official added, "There are constraints such as poor underwater visibility and limited working time underwater in the salvage operation area," and said, "Considering various safety factors, we plan to proceed with the operation by additionally deploying a submarine rescue ship capable of saturation diving."