Seoul: N. Korea’s “military spy satellite launch” ends up pieces of debris

TOKYO, North Korea fired what it claims to be a military spy satellite Monday, but the projectile ended up as multiple pieces of debris shortly after launch, South Korea's military said, Yonhap News Agency reported. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the suspected satellite-carrying rocket being launched in a southward direction over the Yellow Sea from the Tongchang-ri area in the country's northwest at about 10:44 p.m. (1344 GMT). The projectile, however, was detected as multiple pieces of debris in the country's waters two minutes later, the JCS said, noting that a detailed analysis is under way between the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the US about whether the projectile flew normally. Pyongyang had earlier notified Japan that it will launch a satellite sometime before June 4 and designated three areas, where rocket debris will fall, as a precaution for safety. The liftoff came on the first day of the eight-day launch window. If confirmed, it would mark the North's latest s atellite launch attempt after the country successfully put its first military spy satellite into orbit in November last year after two unsuccessful attempts in May and August, respectively. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to send three more spy satellites into orbit in 2024. The North's space rocket launches have drawn condemnation from Seoul, Tokyo, Washington and others, as they violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban the country from launches using ballistic missile technology. Ahead of the latest launch, the South's military on Monday warned it would take "powerful" measures in response to the North's launch plan and staged air drills, involving advanced fighter jets, near the inter-Korean border in a show of force. Source: Kuwait News Agency