▲ 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, allegedly carrying a military reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, from Tongchang-ri on the North's west coast at 6:29 a.m. the previous day. The projectile fell into waters some 200 kilometers west of the South's southwestern island of Eocheong following its flight over the waters far west of the border island of Baengnyeong. In just about 2 1/2 hours after the launch, the North confirmed its failure, citing the "abnormal starting of the second-stage engine." (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-Japan-NK launch

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan 'strongly condemn' N. Korea's latest space launch

SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan on Thursday "strongly condemned" North Korea's latest space rocket launch that apparently ended in failure earlier in the day, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Seoul's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, delivered the joint message in a trilateral conference call after Pyongyang announced that its second attempt to launch a spy satellite earlier in the day failed

Pyongyang said it launched the spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, mounted on a new type of rocket named the Chollima-1, but it failed due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight, according to the North's state media.

According to the ministry, the chief negotiators emphasized that the North's latest launch "constitutes a grave violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that prohibit any launches by North Korea using ballistic missile technology."

The three sides also deplored the North's pouring of valuable resources into such provocations while disregarding its people going through livelihood difficulties.

Further, the officials emphasized that cooperation between the three countries, as well as with the international community, against the North will strengthen even more as Pyongyang continues its provocations.

Pyongyang's first spy satellite launch was carried out in May but ended in failure. The North has said it plans to conduct the third space launch attempt in October.

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