North Korea Admits 'Reconnaissance Satellite Failure'... Joint Chiefs of Staff: "Explosion in Air"

North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration "Rocket 1st Stage Explosion"
Joint Chiefs of Staff Detect 'Debris' Just 2 Minutes After Tracking Trajectory

North Korea admitted to the failure of its first attempted military reconnaissance satellite launch this year.

On the 28th, the Korean Central News Agency reported under the headline "Accident Occurred During Military Reconnaissance Satellite Launch," stating, "The National Aerospace Development Administration launched the reconnaissance satellite 'Manlijeong 1' on the 27th from the West Sea Satellite Launch Station using a new satellite carrier rocket," and added, "During the launch, the first stage of the new rocket exploded in mid-air."

North Korea launching the reconnaissance satellite Malligyeong-1 aboard the Cheollima-1 satellite carrier rocket at the West Sea Satellite Launching Station in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province in November last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]

North Korea was detected launching the projectile from the West Sea Satellite Launch Station located in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, at around 10:44 PM the previous day. It quickly acknowledged the failure at 12:22 AM, just 1 hour and 30 minutes later.

The report said, "(The deputy director of the National Aerospace Development Administration) stated that the new satellite carrier rocket failed due to an in-flight explosion of the first stage," and "a preliminary conclusion was reached by experts at the emergency satellite launch preparation committee's on-site command that the cause of the accident was related to the reliability of the newly developed liquid oxygen + kerosene engine."

The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that just two minutes after detecting the trajectory of the North Korean projectile at 10:46 PM the previous day, the projectile was detected as "multiple fragments" in North Korean waters. A JCS official explained, "It is assessed to have exploded in mid-air, and South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are closely cooperating to analyze the details." Additionally, the South Korean military, in cooperation with the United States, had been tracking the preparation activities of the projectile that North Korea claimed was a military reconnaissance satellite, and had pre-deployed South Korean, U.S., and Japanese Aegis destroyers in designated waters to maintain a readiness posture.

A military official stated, "This 'North Korean claimed military reconnaissance satellite' launch is a provocative act that clearly violates the United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions prohibiting the use of ballistic missile technology and scientific and technological cooperation," and added, "Our military will maintain the capability and posture to overwhelmingly respond to any provocations while closely monitoring North Korea's various activities under the firm ROK-U.S. combined defense posture."