North Korea launched what it initially called a “spacecraft” southward, causing alarm in South Korea and Japan, where emergency evacuations had been planned, but later called off. Shortly after, the official Pyongyang agency announced that the satellite’s transport rocket “fell into the sea”, crashing into the Korean West Sea due to an abnormal start-up of the engine. On Tuesday, May 30, North Korea announced it would launch its first military reconnaissance satellite in June.
Firm condemnation of the USA, according to which the launch is to be considered in “violation of various resolutions of the UN Security Council, increases tensions and risks destabilizing the situation in the region”. The South Korean military reported that they took charge of the recovery of “objects” part of the vehicle. This was reported by the Yonhap agency, after the soldiers themselves had announced the recording of the fall of “a bullet in the waters about 200 kilometers east of the South Korean island of Eocheong, in the Yellow Sea, after following an anomalous flight”.
