(LEAD) N. Korea intends to launch satellite between Aug. 24 and 31: Kyodo

▲ 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)

(LEAD) N Korea-satellite launch

(LEAD) N. Korea intends to launch satellite between Aug. 24 and 31: Kyodo

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details throughout)

SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has notified Japan's coast guard of its intention to launch a satellite between Thursday and Aug. 31, a Japanese media report has said, as the secretive regime is preparing to put a spy satellite into orbit.

"The plan is believed to be a retry of a military reconnaissance satellite launch North Korea attempted in May, but that ended in failure," Japan's Kyodo News said in its English-language report Tuesday.

The North has informed Japan of its plan to designate three maritime danger zones -- two of which are west of the Korean Peninsula and the other is to the east of the Philippines' island of Luzon, the report said.

The North launched its first military spy satellite, the Malligyong-1, mounted on a new-type 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, according to the North's state media.

South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers last week that Pyongyang could launch a reconnaissance satellite in late August or early September, ahead of the 75th anniversary of the regime's founding on Sept. 9.

The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan held a trilateral summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Friday and agreed to cooperate closely for stronger missile defense against North Korea.

A military spy satellite is among the high-tech weapons that the North has vowed to develop, along with solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine.

The South Korean military said in July that the North's spy satellite has "no military utility" after retrieving its wreckage from the Yellow Sea.

Experts said a spy satellite will help the North stage a precision strike against targets in war situations, as it will enhance the country's surveillance capability, but many still have doubts about the North's satellite capabilities.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved