What is known about the crash of the rocket

North Korea’s Central Telegraph Agency admitted that the second stage of the Chollima-1 rocket carrying the Malligyong-1 satellite was malfunctioning. The mass media attributed this to “unstable” fuel and the novelty of the launch vehicle. Promised to fix “serious flaws” as soon as possible and reboot.

South Korea later said it found a piece of what it believed to be the wreckage and pulled it out of the water 200 kilometers west of the southwest island of Eochondo. The Department of Defense has released photos of a white metal cylinder it says is most likely part of the missile.

Based on the debris found, technical experts will be able to get a great idea of ​​North Korea’s ability to operate large multi-stage launch vehicles.
said Ankit Panda, an American security analyst.

Remains of the North Korean launch vehicle / Photo: ROK JCS

Remains of the North Korean launch vehicle / Photo: ROK JCS

• The launch was North Korea’s sixth satellite launch attempt and its first since 2016. It was supposed to put the country’s first spy device into orbit.
• Since 1998, Pyongyang has launched five satellites, three of which were immediately rejected.
• The other two are known to have been launched into orbit, but their signals were never independently detected, suggesting they may have malfunctioned as well.

As The Guardian wrote, Kim Jong-un is trying to strengthen his military potential against the background of growing tensions in relations with the United States and South Korea. After acknowledging an unusually quick failure, North Korean officials promised to carry out a second launch as soon as possible, which “shows Kim Jong-un’s determination to expand his arsenal of weapons and increase the pressure on Washington and Seoul.”