North Korea announced that its attempt to launch a military spy satellite ended in failure after the rockets engine exploded during flight.
The Deputy Director-General of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) in North Korea said that the missile carrying the satellite Mallegyong-1-1 exploded after launching from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on the northwestern coast of the country, according to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The South Korean army announced that it had detected what appeared to be a space rocket carrying a military spy satellite launched by North Korea, which was discovered as multiple pieces of debris shortly after its launch.
North Korea placed its first spy satellite Mallegyong-1-1 into orbit last November, after two failed attempts in May and August of last year, and pledged to launch three more satellites this year.