North Korea’s latest attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit ended in a mid-air explosion, Pyongyang said late Monday, hours after its announcement of a planned launch was criticised by Seoul and Tokyo.
An “expert review concluded that the cause of the accident was the operational reliability of the newly developed liquid oxygen and oil engine,” the statement, carried by the official Korean Central news agency, added.
Putting a spy satellite into orbit has long been a top priority for Kim Jong-un’s regime, and it claimed to have succeeded in November, after two failed attempts last year.
Seoul claims Kim received Russian technical assistance for that launch, in return for sending containers of weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine.
Pyongyang had notified Japan earlier on Monday that it was planning to put another satellite into orbit, prompting criticism from both Seoul and Tokyo, which urged Kim to call it off.
South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that another satellite launch would “undermine regional and global peace and stability”.
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