SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea released video footage on Tuesday that its military said showed the moment North Korea’s latest attempt at launching a satellite ended in failure.
The one-minute black-and-white video provided by the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) showed what appeared to be an explosion in the sky followed by flashes.
The footage was filmed by an observation device on a South Korean patrol vessel, the JCS said.
North Korea said its latest attempt to launch a new military reconnaissance satellite failed on Monday during the flight of the rocket’s first stage.
An initial analysis suggested that the cause was a newly developed liquid fuel rocket motor, but other possible causes were being investigated, a report carried by state media KCNA said.
The attempt came just hours after Pyongyang issued a warning that it would try to launch a satellite by June 4, in what would have been its second spy satellite in orbit.
South Korea and U.S. authorities believe the projectile exploded after flying for a few minutes, according to South Korea’s presidential office.
The JCS said it detected a large amount of debris from the rocket in the sea just two minutes after launch.
The object fired by North Korea disappeared over the Yellow Sea, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. He accused North Korea of violating U.N. Security Council resolutions with the launch.
The United States condemned the launch, “which incorporated technologies that are directly related to the DPRK’s ballistic missile program and took place in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions,” a State Department spokesperson said. DPRK is short for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.
The launch came hours after China, South Korea, and Japan wrapped up a rare three-way summit in Seoul.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Ed Davies and Stephen Coates)
