North Korea on Tuesday launched a rocket with its first spy satellite, The New York Times reported.
South Korea said this was an attempt by North Korea to put its first military reconnaissance satellite in orbit, this time with technological help from Russia.
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Wed 18 Dec. 2024
The rocket flew to the south over the sea between the Korean Peninsula and China, the South Korean military said in a brief statement.
The United States, South Korea and Japan have all placed their militaries on alert to guard against such a launch, concerned that debris from the North’s rocket might fall on the Asian allies’ territories.
They also want to collect intelligence on the rocket to determine the implications its satellite programme may have on regional stability.
North Korea launched its new Chollima-1 rocket from its satellite launching station in Tongchang-ri near its northwestern border with China in May and again in August.
As per The New York Times, the rocket flew on the same southbound trajectory, seeking to place satellite s in orbit so that North Korea could better monitor American and South Korean military movements in the region and improve its nuclear-attack capabilities.
But both times, the rockets malfunctioned and failed to thrust the Malligyong-1, the North’s first homemade military spy satellite, into orbit.
