North Korea said on Tuesday that its latest attempt to launch a new rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure due to the midair explosion of the rocket during the first-stage flight this week.
Vice General Director of North Korea’s National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) said that the rocket carrying the satellite, the Malligyong-1-1, exploded after it lifted off from the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the country’s northwest coast on Monday, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The launch came just hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a trilateral summit in Seoul and reaffirmed their commitment to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.
“The launch failed due to the air blast of the new-type satellite carrier rocket during the first-stage flight,” the KCNA reported, citing the NATA official.
A preliminary examination by experts from the North’s launch preparatory committee concluded that the “accident” was attributable to the operational reliability of a new “liquid oxygen plus petroleum” engine, the official said.
The other causes of the failure will also be examined, according to the KCNA.