‘Abnormal flight’ detected in second-stage flight of North’s botched satellite launch: Defense minister

An error may have occurred in the second stage of flight for the Chollima-1 space launch vehicle (SLV) launched by North Korea Thursday, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers Friday.

South Korean and U.S. special warfare troops take part in joint drills at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Friday, amid the ongoing annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise which runs to the end of the month. [KOREAN NAVY]

An error may have occurred in the second stage of flight for the Chollima-1 space launch vehicle (SLV) launched by North Korea Thursday, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers Friday.

In a meeting of the National Assembly's defense committee, Lee said that there are some grounds to believe that the SLV had an "abnormal flight from the second-stage engine."

He said that South Korea's Agency for Defense Development and U.S. experts are still conducting a detailed analysis of the latest botched launch but that the final results will take some time to be revealed.

This is contrary to North Korea's claims Thursday that its second attempt to launch a reconnaissance satellite had failed "due to an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight."

On Thursday morning, the South Korean military confirmed that North Korea launched a space launch vehicle from the Tongchang-ri area in North Pyongan Province, which flew over international waters west of Ieodo Ocean Research Station south of Jeju Island.

The North's state media confirmed later that its reconnaissance satellite, the Malligyong-1, mounted on a "new-type" Chollima-1 rocket launched from the Sohae satellite launching station in Cholsan County, had ended in failure.

Pyongyang also previously admitted to failing to launch a spy satellite on May 31.

Lee also told lawmakers that South Korea and the United States have been sharing information and coordinating search and salvage efforts to retrieve the sunken satellite wreckage from the ocean.

His ministry said that the first stage of the rocket landed in the seas west of the Korean Peninsula, similar to what North Korea had predicted, and the second stage fell into waters northeast of the Philippines, slightly off course from the designated area.

Lee also said that the South Korean and U.S. militaries are strengthening the alliance's crisis management and response capabilities and enhancing the combined defense posture through the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield, an 11-day annual joint exercise that runs to Aug. 31.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup speaks to lawmakers of the parliamentary defense committee on North Korea’s botched spy satellite launch at the National Assembly in western Seoul Friday. [NEWS1]

On Tuesday, Pyongyang warned Japan's coast guard of its plans to launch a satellite in the coming days and designated three maritime danger zones that could be affected by the planned satellite launch: around the Yellow Sea, southwest of North Korea, in the East China Sea and east of the Philippine island of Luzon.

The U.S. Defense Department in turn warned that North Korea's failed attempt to launch a military satellite is a "provocative" action that is "destabilizing" to the region.

"We'll continue to work closely with our Republic of Korea allies, our Japanese allies to ensure that we share common understanding of the situation and work together to ensure stability and security in the region," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a briefing in Washington Thursday.

Pyongyang said it will make a third attempt to launch a spy satellite in October, which Seoul officials say could fall around the founding of the North's ruling Workers' Party on Oct. 10.

The New York-based UN Security Council is expected to hold a meeting Friday discussing the North's latest satellite launch and nonproliferation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a statement Thursday "strongly" condemned North Korea's attempted launch of another military satellite.

He said that any launch by the North using "ballistic missile technology is contrary to the relevant Security Council resolutions," according to Florencia Soto Niño, his spokesperson.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]