North Korea
has once
again tried to send an alleged spy
satellite into orbit,
but didn't go so well.
State media announced
that the rocket
carrying the satellite exploded
during the first stage of flight.
CNN's Will Ripley has details.
North Korea putting the world on edge,
attempting to launch a suspected
military spy satellite
for the second time in six months.
North Korean state
media says the rocket exploded
during the first stage of launch.
Sounding emergency
sirens on Okinawa, Japan.
That alert later lifted
shocking footage from Japanese
broadcaster NHK,
appears to show a shining orange
dot flying in the sky
and bursting into flames.
Japan's Coast Guard got advanced
warning from Pyongyang of an eight day
launch window ending June 4th.
Rocket debris potentially
falling in three locations
near the Korean peninsula
and the Philippines island of Luzon.
Buccaneer
one, the so-called satellite
launch that North Korea announced
today, is a clear violation of U.N.
Security Council resolutions,
and the international community
should respond firmly.
South Korean and U.S.
intelligence closely
monitoring North Korea's
satellite launch site.
Kim Jong UN was there in November
when North Korea successfully launched
its first spy satellite,
after two failed attempts last year.
Experts warn spy satellites
give Pyongyang
valuable intelligence
on South Korean
and US military assets in the region,
potentially making missile
strikes more accurate to focus
on the latest launch announcement
as Japan,
South Korea
and China
hold their first summit in nearly
five years,
a meeting overshadowed
by North Korea's latest moves.
Pyongyang says Kim is preparing to host
Russian President Vladimir Putin soon,
a sign of deepening diplomatic
and military ties.
What analysts
call Kim's strategic pivot away from U.S.
diplomacy.
Five years since summit talks
with former President Donald Trump
fell apart.
North Korea is interested more
in engaging the so-called Moscow friendly
network of countries.
For instance, Iran
like Iran, Pyongyang
is selling weapons to Putin.
Ukraine says North Korean missiles
have killed
and injured dozens this year,
giving North Korea valuable
real world data
on the accuracy of its missiles
made with recently produced U.S.
and European parts.
A UK think tank says those
at their meeting in Russia last year,
Kim said I will always be
standing with Russia.
Putin promised to help Kim's
satellite program this year.
The leader of North
Korea shows
great interest in space and rocketry.
We'll show them our new objects
and alliance, the U.S.
warns, could see Russia
providing critical ballistic
missile technology
to North Korea
further destabilizing the region
and the world,
North Korean state media is reporting.
Initial analysis suggests
a newly developed liquid
fuel rocket
motor may be the cause
of this mid-air
explosion,
although other causes
are also being investigated.
We do know that the North Koreans
learn a lot from these failures,
sometimes even more than
from successful launches,
and Kim
Jong UN has already announced
plans to launch three more military spy
satellites this year, part
of a military modernization program,
which means North
Korea is undoubtedly going to try
this again.
Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei,