JCS: "Suspected North Korean Military Reconnaissance Satellite Track Detected South of the West Sea"

North Korea appears to have launched a military reconnaissance satellite on the same day it announced the launch of an artificial satellite rocket.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on the 27th at around 10:44 PM that they detected one trajectory presumed to be a "military reconnaissance satellite claimed by North Korea," launched by North Korea from the Dongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province towards the south of the West Sea.

A Joint Chiefs of Staff official explained, "The launch vehicle was detected as multiple fragments over North Korean waters at around 10:46 PM, and South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are conducting a detailed analysis to determine whether the flight was normal."

Dongchang-ri in North Pyongan Province, where the launch vehicle is presumed to have been fired, is the location of the West Sea Satellite Launching Station. On the early morning of the same day, ahead of the Korea-Japan-China summit, North Korea notified Japan that it plans to launch a rocket carrying a satellite between that day and the 4th of next month, and intends to establish three maritime danger zones accordingly. Japan is the coordinating country under the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Worldwide Navigational Warning Service (WWNWS).