The Japanese government issued an emergency warning on Monday for Okinawan residents to take cover from the possible threat of a North Korean ballistic missile, as reported by Reuters.
Stay indoors or find shelter, as the Japanese government said over its J-Alert broadcasting system, according to the report.
North Korea’s attempt to launch another spy satellite has failed, and a rocket carrying it exploded in mid-air on Monday.
Earlier, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the launch vehicle may have failed in flight, adding it had detected “many fragments” in the ocean from the rocket in the sea. The report further stated that South Korean and US intelligence agencies are investigating whether the launch had failed.
“Around two minutes after it detected “what’s suspected to be the North’s military reconnaissance satellite… many fragments of the projectile were detected around 22:46 (1346 GMT) in North Korea waters and the US and South Korea are analysing whether it had operational flight,” AFP quoted Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying.
The South Korean JCS said North Korea fired the projectile on a southern path off its west coast at around 10:44 p.m. (1344 GMT), hours after Pyongyang informed about launching a satellite sometime before June 4.
The launch appeared to originate from Dongchang-ri, a northwestern area of North Korea, where its main space flight center is based, according to the JCS.
The missile did not fly into the area that had been announced, and the situation is not as North Korea had intended. We are still analyzing whether it is a satellite or not, as quoted by Kyodo news, a senior Japanese defence ministry official.
The official further said that the color of the flames in the footage suggests that liquid fuel may be burning, but details are currently being analysed.
It is important to note that Pyongyang successfully launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit in November last year after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare trip abroad in September and toured Russia’s most modern space launch centre
North Korea is trying to build a space-based surveillance network to counter what it calls increasing US-led military threats. Earlier, the North Korean leader announced to a ruling party meeting that Pyongyang would launch three additional military spy satellites in 2024.
