North Korea said its recent attempt to launch a new rocket, reportedly carrying its second military spy satellite, failed after an engine exploded midflight and crashed into the nearby water.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said it launched the satellite on a new rocket from its northwestern space center. The agency said it blew up soon after liftoff and the issue was suspected to be an engine problem, The Associated Press reported.
Earlier Monday, North Korea notified Japan’s coast guard about its plan, warning the country to exercise caution in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and China, and east of the Philippine island of Luzon.
Japan’s NHK public TV station reported an image captured by a camera in northeastern China showing an orange light in the sky and an apparent explosion. South Korea also tracked the launch trajectory and within four minutes, the country spotted fragments in the water, according to the AP.
The launch came hours after leaders from South Korea, China and Japan met in Seoul for their first meeting in more than four years.
In November, North Korea successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, called the Malligyong-1, atop a Chollima-1 rocket in the country’s main launch center after two prior failures, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The country says the Malligyong-1 is still functioning.
The spy satellites are part of North Korea’s efforts to increase space surveillance against the United States.
The news comes months after the United Nations Security Council banned North Korea from launching satellites because it views them as a disguised test of missile technology.
The U.S. condemned the first launch, citing the violation of the U.N. resolution, which bars the country from ballistic missile technology.
“The president and his national security team are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners,” the Biden administration said in a statement at the time. “We urge all countries to condemn this launch and call on [North Korea] to come to the table for serious negotiations.”
North Korea has previously warned that any interference with its spy satellite mission would be a “declaration of war.”