▲ This file photo provided by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on June 1, 2023, shows the launch of the North's new Chollima-1 rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, the Malligyong-1, from Tongchang-ri on the North's west coast the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) N Korea-space vehicle

(2nd LD) N. Korea fires what it claims to be 'space launch vehicle' southward: S. Korean military

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout)

By Song Sang-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired what it claims to be a "space launch vehicle" southward Thursday, the South Korean military said, in an apparent second try to put a spy satellite into orbit less than three months after its first failed attempt.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Tongchang-ri area on the North's west coast at 3:50 a.m., and the projectile flew over international waters west of Ieodo, a submerged rock approximately 149 km southwest of Jeju Island.

"While elevating its vigilance posture, our military, in close cooperation with the United States, is maintaining a full readiness posture," the JCS said in a text message to reporters.

The launch came as North Korea informed Japan of its plan to launch a satellite and designate three maritime danger zones -- two of which are west of the Korean Peninsula and the other to the east of the Philippine island of Luzon -- between Thursday and Aug. 31.

The launch window overlaps the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise between South Korea and the United States that began its 11-day run Monday. The North has long denounced Seoul-Washington joint military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion.

Pyongyang launched its first military spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, mounted on a new type of rocket named the Chollima-1, on May 31. But the rocket crashed into the Yellow Sea after an "abnormal starting" of the second-stage engine.

The South retrieved parts of the North Korean satellite wreckage from the botched launch on May 31 and concluded that it had no military value.

The launch defied international criticism that it could constitute a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any launch using ballistic missile technology.

The North has been striving to secure a space-based reconnaissance asset as part of key defense projects unveiled at the eighth congress of its ruling party in early 2021.

Observers said that the North appears intent to secure intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets as it is far behind South Korea and the U.S. in ISR capabilities despite its focus on developing an array of formidable weapons systems, namely tactical nuclear arms.

The launch also coincided with Pyongyang's expected efforts to liven up the festive mood ahead of the 75th anniversary of the founding of its regime on Sept. 9, observers said.

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