The debut launch of the new North Korean Chollima-1 rocket ended in failure. It fell into the sea about 200 km west of Eocheong Island in South Korea.
In April 2023, North Korea publicly announced its intention to launch the first spy satellite in its history in the near future. It was planned to use a new Chollima-1 rocket for this mission. At the end of May, the DPRK informed the International Maritime Organization of its intention to launch a satellite in the period from May 31 to June 11 and provided a map of dangerous shipping zones in the Pacific Ocean corresponding to the places of the alleged fall of the first and second stages of the carrier.
The North Korean rocket was launched on May 31. In this regard, an alert was issued in South Korea, and a meeting of the National Security Council of Japan was held in Tokyo. In addition, even before the launch, the military of the land of the Rising Sun made a standard statement in such cases about their readiness to shoot down a North Korean rocket if it would pose a danger to Japanese territory.
As a result, Chollima-1 flew safely over the Yellow Sea without creating a threat to its neighbors. However, then the rocket fell into the sea. It happened about 200 km west of Eocheong Island in South Korea. The crash area of the carrier is located near one of the dangerous zones corresponding to the alleged crash site of its first stage. This indicates that the accident occurred at the separation of the stages.
After a while, photos of the wreckage of a North Korean rocket made by a ship of the South Korean Navy have already appeared on the network. Apparently, it managed to find the remains of Chollima-1.
Shortly after that, the DPRK Central News Agency published a message in which it recognized the fact of the accident. It occurred due to the loss of thrust in the engine of the second stage. The report also says that in the near future, the DPRK will re-launch Chollima-1 with a new spy satellite.
According to https://www.nknews.org
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