Falcon powers – North Korea has announced plans to launch a rocket that would carry what appears to be its second military surveillance satellite.
North Korea has announced the failure of its attempt to launch a spy satellite into space.
Pyongyang had earlier announced that it would launch a rocket that may carry a second military surveillance satellite early next week.
The announcement has drawn strong criticism from its neighbors, South Korea and Japan.
North Korea notified Japan of the launch, as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Seoul in their first trilateral meeting in over four years.
The United Nations bans North Korea from conducting any satellite launches, considering them as covers for testing long-range missile technology.
However, North Korea claims it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles.
The Japanese Coast Guard has stated that it was notified of North Korea’s planned launch of a “space rocket”, with safety warnings issued for waters between the Korean Peninsula and China, and east of Luzon Island in the Philippines for a week.
North Korea provides launch information to Japan because the Japanese Coast Guard coordinates and distributes maritime safety information in East Asia.
The launch is likely planned to place North Korea’s second military surveillance satellite into orbit. North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit last November.
Senior diplomats from Japan, South Korea, and the United States have agreed to urge North Korea to refrain from the launch.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry separately described North Korea’s satellite launch as a “serious provocation that threatens our security and regional security.”
Later on Monday, the country mobilized 20 fighter jets to conduct drills aimed at demonstrating its determination to punish North Korea in the event of provocation, according to the South Korean military.
