North Korea says latest spy satellite launch exploded in flight

SEOUL — North Korea said its attempt to launch a new military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure on May 27 when a newly developed rocket engine exploded in flight.

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.

Instead, the launch became the nuclear-armed North's latest failure, following two other fiery crashes in 2023. It successfully placed its first spy satellite in orbit in November.

"The launch of the new satellite carrier rocket failed when it exploded in mid-air during the flight of the first stage," the deputy director-general of North Korea's National Aerospace Technology Administration said in a report carried by state media.

An initial analysis suggested that the cause was a newly developed liquid fuel rocket motor, but other possible causes were being investigated, the report said.

Officials in South Korea and Japan had earlier reported that the launch seemed to have failed.

North Korea fired the projectile on a southern path off its west coast at around 10.44pm (9.44pm in Singapore), the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, hours after Pyongyang said it would be launching a satellite some time before June 4.

JCS said it detected debris from the rocket in the sea, however, and South Korean and US intelligence agencies were investigating whether the launch failed.

The object launched by North Korea disappeared over the Yellow Sea, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters, adding the government presumes nothing had entered the space.

"These launches are in violation of relevant security council resolutions and are a serious matter concerning the safety