"Stomach-Aching Kim Jong-un"... Why North Korea Publicly Revealed the 'Satellite Failure'

North Korea Publicly Reveals 'Satellite Failure' to Residents Only
Taeyongho: "Chollima Is a Name Reminiscent of Kim Il-sung"
"Technical Defect vs. Forced Relaunch"... Interpretations Vary

Various interpretations have emerged regarding North Korea's decision to disclose internally to its residents the failure of the 'military reconnaissance satellite' launch, which was initially only publicly announced externally. In particular, at the Party plenary meeting, there was severe criticism of the 'irresponsibility of the cadres,' with analysis suggesting that the shortcomings of the launch vehicle were either not reported in advance to Chairman Kim Jong-un or that the technical defects were more significant than expected, possibly to buy time for a re-launch.

According to the Ministry of Unification on the 20th, North Korea reported the results of the Workers' Party Central Committee plenary meeting through state media the previous day. In a report on the security situation, the Central Committee Political Bureau described the space launch vehicle that crashed into the West Sea as the 'most serious defect,' stating, "There were also defects that could not be overlooked." It particularly emphasized that "the irresponsibility of the workers (cadres) responsible for preparing and promoting the satellite launch project was sharply criticized."

Kim Jong-un of North Korea presiding over the 8th Plenary Meeting

Earlier, on the 31st of last month, North Korea launched the long-range rocket 'Chollima-1,' carrying the so-called reconnaissance satellite 'Manlilyeong-1,' but after abnormal flight, it crashed into the West Sea. North Korea only externally acknowledged the 'launch failure' immediately after the space launch vehicle crashed through the Korean Central News Agency, and subsequently, South Korean military authorities recovered debris and are conducting detailed analysis in cooperation with the United States.

Former North Korean diplomat and People Power Party lawmaker Tae Yong-ho predicted, "Considering that North Korea evaluated the cause of the satellite failure as 'the irresponsibility of the cadres,' it seems that Kim Jong-un also newly learned during the cause investigation process that the launch vehicle was not technically completed."

In particular, Tae mentioned that the name 'Chollima' is connected to President Kim Il-sung and analyzed that the burden of the satellite failure on Chairman Kim Jong-un might be greater than expected. He said, "If someone had hinted to Kim Jong-un about the possibility of satellite failure, they would not have attached the name 'Chollima,' which reminds of the 'Chollima Movement' regarded as the greatest achievement of his grandfather," adding, "Right now, what pains Kim Jong-un more than the satellite failure itself is that the Chollima, directly linked to Kim Il-sung, is stuck in the western sea and has been recovered by us."

Furthermore, Tae said, "Due to the nature of the regime, North Korea has repeatedly followed a pattern of completing major weapons to avoid appearing weak, projecting an image as a military power, and then seemingly engaging in dialogue upon external requests," adding, "This time as well, they intended to succeed in launching a military reconnaissance satellite within the first half of the year, then appear as a leader possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and reconnaissance satellites, and engage in talks with neighboring countries in the second half, but the plan has become tangled."

"Supreme Leader Avoiding Responsibility" vs. "Likely to Proceed with Re-launch"

North Korea Releases Footage of 'Failed' Satellite Launch

Debris of the North Korean space launch vehicle Cheollima 1 recovered by our military authorities. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

Expert opinions were somewhat divided. Hong Min, head of the North Korea Research Division at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the background for North Korea's internal disclosure of the reconnaissance satellite failure was that "Kim Jong-un visited the National Space Development Agency twice and publicly announced the launch date, promoting it as a key achievement in the first half of the year, but ultimately failed and lost face," adding, "It appears to be an attempt to shift responsibility to the working-level staff and avoid the supreme leader's responsibility."

Hong also left open the possibility that the technical defects of the reconnaissance satellite, for which North Korea has announced a re-launch, might be greater than expected. He said, "If it were a simple defect, they would not have made it an issue with 'sharp criticism' at the plenary meeting and proceeded with the launch," adding, "Publicly admitting failure and criticizing the irresponsibility of related workers suggests that resolving the defect will require a long time or that it is not a simple defect."

On the other hand, Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, predicted, "Since the plenary meeting discussed the issue politically rather than technically, it is expected that they will proceed with the satellite re-launch as quickly as possible." Yang pointed out that although there was a disciplinary personnel change in the economic sector, with the party's economic department head replaced from Jeon Hyun-cheol to Oh Soo-yong, no personnel related to the reconnaissance satellite was dismissed or replaced, as a basis for his observation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.