In the early morning of May 27, residents of the Chinese border district of Dandong witnessed an explosion in the sky. Its source was not a meteor, or space debris entering the atmosphere. In fact, eyewitnesses happened to see the death of a North Korean rocket.
Later, the DPRK officially recognized the failed launch. According to a report published by the Korean Central Telegraph Agency, there was a reconnaissance satellite on board the rocket. The cause of the accident was called a malfunction of a new engine using oil as fuel and liquid oxygen as an oxidizer.
North Korea has not provided any more information or released images of the exploded rocket. But, according to experts, most likely we are talking about a carrier other than Chollima-1. In 2023, the DPRK carried out four launches of this rocket. Three of them ended in failure, and only in one case they managed to put the cargo into orbit.
At the same time, it is worth noting that during the only successful mission of Chollima-1, its first stage was intentionally undermined after separation from the rocket. It is believed that this was done in order to hide the use of foreign components in it, especially Russian ones. The fact is that such launches violate existing UN resolutions. However, it does not prevent Russia from actively cooperating with the DPRK and helping it with the rocket program in exchange for shells that are used at the front against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to AP
