North Korea's Kim Jong-un Faces Humiliation, Second Attempt at Reconnaissance Satellite Launch Fails Ahead of September 9th Anniversary

North Korea's latest military reconnaissance satellite launch has ended in failure, leading to unexpected embarrassment for Kim Jong-un's leadership. North Korea had attempted a military reconnaissance satellite launch in May, which also failed. After an 85-day gap, they made a second attempt ahead of the September 9th anniversary of the regime's establishment. However, this attempt also ended in failure. This setback not only foiled North Korea's plans to showcase military achievements on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of regime establishment on September 9th but also increased pressure on Kim Jong-un's leadership.

 

This recent failure of North Korea's military reconnaissance satellite launch raises concerns about regional stability. The international community continues to monitor and strengthen responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile development activities.

 

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea launched a "North-claimed space launch vehicle" towards the south direction from the Dongchang-ri site in Pyonganbuk-do around 3:50 AM on the 24th. However, the launch was immediately evaluated as a failure. Analysis indicates that this launch, unlike the first attempt, took place from a newly constructed launch site on the seashore, about 3 km away from the original site.

 

The Japanese government also announced the failure of this satellite launch. Objects separated from the North Korean space launch vehicle fell into the waters west of the Korean Peninsula (around 300 km from the western coast) and the East China Sea (around 350 km from the western coast) between 3:58 and 3:59 AM. Another object is estimated to have fallen into the airspace about 600 km east of the Philippines between 4:00 and 5:00 AM.

 

 

North Korea admitted the failure about two and a half hours after the launch. The Korean Central News Agency reported, "The National Aerospace Development Administration conducted a second launch with the newly developed satellite 'Manrikyong-1' aboard the new-type carrier rocket 'Cheonrima-1.'" It further stated, "The first and second stages of Cheonrima-1 flew normally, but an anomaly occurred in the third-stage emergency separation system, resulting in failure." North Korea also expressed its intention to explain the cause of this accident within a short period and announced plans for a third reconnaissance satellite launch in October.

 

 

As a result of this failure, North Korea's plans to highlight Kim Jong-un's military accomplishments on September 9th, the anniversary of the establishment of the regime, have been thwarted. With the second launch also ending in failure, the North Korean government faces political and military setbacks.

 

Meanwhile, South Korea's military initiated an operation to retrieve the debris of the North Korean launch vehicle from the sea. A spokesperson from the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "We are conducting search and retrieval operations for debris of the North Korean space launch vehicle using naval vessels and aircraft. Our naval vessel is operating in the West Sea, while the U.S. is conducting operations in the open sea."

 

 

This recent failure of North Korea's military reconnaissance satellite launch raises concerns about regional stability. The international community continues to monitor and strengthen responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile development activities.