North Korea's spy satellite fails again, US urges diplomacy

A second attempt by North Korea to put into orbit a spy satellite failed Thursday as the United States accused Pyongyang of violating UN Security Council resolutions, calling for dialogue "without preconditions."

In a statement, the US State Department urged North Korea to refrain from "further threatening activity." US President Joe Biden's national security team was assessing the situation, the White House said. 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that although the launch might have ended in failure, "behavior like this goes against the UN resolutions and we're already firmly protesting."

Meanwhile, North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) said it would investigate the failure and attempt another launch in October.

In May, Pyongyang made an attempt to launch a spy satellite for the first time. But the Chollima-1 rocket crashed into the ocean, North Korea's state-run KCNA news reported.

The North’s space agency said Thursday it used Chollima-1 rocket to put the reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1 into orbit this time as well.

KCNA reported the flights of the first and second stages of the rocket were normal. But the launch eventually failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight.

Rocket launch triggers emergency warning in Japan

North Korea had informed South Korea that it would attempt a space launch at some point from Thursday.

The launch took place before dawn Thursday, on the first day of the period Pyongyang earmarked for the launch.

South Korea's military said it tracked the flight of the rocket that was launched from the Sohae Satellite Launching Center and concluded it was a failure.

The flight triggered an emergency warning in Japan, with the government following up about 20 minutes later to say the warning had been lifted.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary condemned the launch, and added that parts of the rocket crashed into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

UN resolutions 'violated,' says US

The US condemned the launch too, saying Pyongyang continues to act contrary to several UN resolutions.

"Space launch vehicles (SLVs) incorporate technologies that are identical to, and interchangeable with, those used in ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)," the US State Department said.

It added adding that "any DPRK (North Korea) launch that uses ballistic missile technology, which would include SLVs used to launch a satellite into space, violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions."

US, South Korea begin joint military drills

North Korea's Thursday launch came three days after the US and South Korean militaries kicked off annual joint military drills that North Korea views as a dress rehearsal for an invasion.

The US and South Korea say the large-scale drills focus on bolstering defense capabilities in the face of North Korea's evolving threats.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has focused on expanding his nuclear and military arsenals in recent years.

North Korea has conducted more than 100 missile tests since the beginning of 2022, many of them involving nuclear-capable weapons.

rm/jsi (Reuters, AP, AFP)