[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Self-detonated North Korean Projectile... Salvage Operation Completed

North Korean Projectile Salvage Operation Ends After 8 Days Without Success
Likely Due to Self-Destruction Causing Fragmented Fall

The military authorities have ended the recovery operation of debris from the space launch vehicle carrying a reconnaissance satellite that North Korea launched on the 24th of last month.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 1st, a Joint Chiefs of Staff official stated, "The recovery operation for the North Korean space launch vehicle debris was concluded as of the 31st of last month," adding, "No significant debris was found during the eight-day operation."

The reason no significant debris was recovered during the military's operation appears to be that North Korea installed an automatic self-destruction device on the first stage of the launch vehicle, causing it to break into small pieces. A military official explained, "We designated the expected debris fall area and deployed ships, aircraft, and deep-sea divers," and added, "After consultations with related agencies, it was judged that even if additional operations were conducted, no meaningful debris would be found, and considering weather conditions such as typhoons, the operation was halted."

Earlier, North Korean propaganda outlet Korean Central News Agency reported the second launch of the ‘Cheollima-1’ rocket carrying the reconnaissance satellite ‘Malligyong-1’ at 6:15 a.m. on the same day, about 2 hours and 25 minutes after the launch, stating, "The first and second stages of the new satellite carrier rocket ‘Cheollima-1’ flew normally, but an error occurred in the emergency explosion system during the flight of the third stage, resulting in failure."

At that time, the launch vehicle flew southward after passing over Baengnyeongdo and Heuksando in the West Sea and west of Jeju Island in the South Sea, deviating from the originally planned orbit. Our military authorities also detected on radar the rocket carrying the reconnaissance satellite launched by North Korea on the 24th breaking into about 40 fragments while falling, and have been investigating with the possibility in mind that North Korea intentionally self-destructed it.

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