Global Courant 2023-05-31 02:48:28
SEOUL/TOKYO — North Korea attempted to launch a so-called space satellite over the sea to the south on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, as the nuclear-armed north tries to gain ground in a regional space race.
The launch prompted emergency warnings and brief evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan, which were subsequently withdrawn with no danger or damage reported.
The South Korean military said it was analyzing whether the launch was successful, as North Korea’s “space launch vehicle” may have disintegrated in mid-air or crashed after disappearing from radars.
North Korea’s “projectile disappeared from radar before reaching its expected drop point,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
North Korea had said it would launch its first military reconnaissance satellite between May 31 and June 11 to boost monitoring of US military activity.
It joins an increasingly heated space race in the region.
South Korea launched satellites into orbit for the first time last week with a domestically designed and produced rocket, and China sent three astronauts to the now fully operational space station on Tuesday as part of its crew rotation.
“Whether or not North Korea’s current satellite mission is a success or not, Pyongyang can be expected to spread political propaganda about its space capabilities, as well as diplomatic rhetoric aimed at driving a wedge between Seoul and Tokyo,” said associate professor of international affairs. studies Leif-Eric. Easley of Ewha University in Seoul.
Warnings issued
In data provided to international authorities, North Korea said the launch would take the missile south, with several stages and other debris expected to fall over the Yellow Sea and into the Pacific Ocean.
At around 6:32 a.m. local time (5:32 a.m. Singapore time), sirens sounded all over Seoul as the city issued an alert asking citizens to prepare for a possible evacuation.
Shortly thereafter, the South Korean interior ministry said, referring to an emergency alert issued from phones across Seoul after the launch, “We inform you that the Seoul Metropolitan Government alarm at 6:41 a.m. was issued incorrectly.”
In Japan, the government issued an emergency alert via its J-Alert public address system to residents of southern Okinawa prefecture early Wednesday morning, saying a missile had been launched from North Korea.
“Rocket launch. Rocket launch. North Korea appears to have launched a missile. Please seek shelter in buildings or underground,” said the warning tweeted by the Prime Minister’s office and broadcast on national broadcaster NHK.
A missile was likely launched around 6:28 a.m., NHK said.
But about 30 minutes later, the government tweeted that the warning was cancelled.
“It is expected that the previously reported missile will not come to Japan. The call for evacuation has been lifted,” the police said.
Japan has activated its missile early warning alerts on several previous occasions in response to launches from Pyongyang, though the alerts are usually quickly lifted.
Japan and South Korea said earlier this week that any launch using ballistic missile technology would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Rocket technology
On Tuesday, Gen. Ri Pyong Chol, deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, said the ongoing joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea require Pyongyang to have the resources to collect intelligence on the military. . actions of the enemy in real time”.
Ahead of Wednesday’s launch, the US State Department said any North Korean launch using ballistic missile technology would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
“Space launch vehicles contain technologies identical to and interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles,” said a State Department spokesman.
North Korea has previously attempted five satellite launches, placing two satellites in orbit, including the last such launch in 2016. However, its ability to build working satellites remains unproven, analysts say.
“As far as we know, North Korea has a very limited capacity to build satellites,” said Dr. Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation, a US-based space policy and security organization.
“They’ve launched a number of satellites before, but all of them failed immediately after launch or shortly after and none of them seemed to have any significant capability.” REUTERS
