North Korea: Debris, Confusion and Reactions… What We Know About the Failed Spy Satellite Launch

The shooting caused confusion in Japan and Seoul. North Korea announced on Wednesday that it was trying to launch a “military reconnaissance satellite” before it crashed “at sea”. How to explain this failure? And what reaction did it provoke in the international community? Let’s go back to recent events.

What’s happened ?

Pyongyang announced on Tuesday that it would put a spy satellite into orbit to “deal with the dangerous military actions of the US and its vassals.” But the attempt ended in failure: “The carrier rocket of the Chollima-1 satellite fell into the West Sea (Korean name for the Yellow Sea), according to the KCNA State news agency. This fall into the sea may be due to a technical problem: “loss of thrust due to abnormal start of the second stage engine after the separation of the first stage during normal flight,” the agency added.

The projectile “quickly disappeared from radar before reaching the expected impact point,” for its part, the South Korean army explained, quoted by Yonhap News Agency. The South Korean army has released images of the wreckage of the satellite and its launch vehicle, which it says were found in the Yellow Sea 200km off Eochon Island, far off the peninsula’s western coast. These images show a large metal structure shaped like a cylinder with pipes and wires at the end.

What precautions are the neighboring countries taking?

This launch caused some confusion among neighboring countries. Shortly before the shooting, sirens sounded in South Korea, accompanied by a “critical emergency” alert sent by Seoul City Hall at 06:41 (21:41 GMT), accompanied by a thunderous ringtone on all the city’s mobile phones.

The warning urging residents to prepare to evacuate by putting “children and the elderly first” was later rescinded, with the Home Office citing an error. According to the South Korean military quoted by Yonhap, the missile never threatened the Seoul metropolitan area.

In Japan, a rocket alert was also issued in the Okinawa department in the south of the country, urging the population to take shelter. It was also taken down by the government after 30 minutes.

What are the reactions?

Not surprisingly, the number of sentences immediately increased. The United States criticized the launch, which uses “ballistic missile technology” and “risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond,” US National Security Council spokesman Adam Hodge said.

Pyongyang’s statement about this shooting was also immediately condemned by Japan and South Korea, citing UN sanctions. These sanctions prevent North Korea from launching ballistic missiles that use the same technology as space launchers.

“If North Korea continues with this launch, it will have to pay the price and suffer well-deserved suffering,” the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.

What context?

After escalating tensions with its neighbor since 2019, North Korea has accelerated its military development and declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power thanks to its leader, Kim Jong-un. “Exponential growth” of North Korea’s arsenal, including tactical nuclear weapons.

But, experts say, Pyongyang does not have a single working satellite, although it has sent five into space. Three launches were unsuccessful. As for the other two devices that were probably put into orbit, no independent body has ever received their signals, indicating a malfunction.