North Korea’s launch of a second military spy satellite fails

North Korea said a recent attempt to launch a new rocket purportedly carrying a second military reconnaissance satellite failed after an engine exploded in flight and the rocket crashed into nearby sea.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency announced that it had launched a satellite aboard a new rocket from a space center in the northwest of the country. The agency said the satellite exploded shortly after launch, likely due to an engine failure, the Associated Press reported.

North Korea notified Japan’s coast guard of its plans early Monday and warned it to be vigilant in waters between the Korean peninsula and China, as well as east of the Philippine island of Luzon.

Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported that a camera in northeastern China captured an orange light in the sky and what appeared to be an explosion. South Korea also tracked the launch trajectory and found debris in the ocean within four minutes, according to the Associated Press.

The announcement came hours after the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan met in Seoul for the first time in more than four years.

North Korea successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, Manlipyong-1, aboard the Chollima-1 rocket at the country’s main launch center in November, according to the Korean Central News Agency. After two previous failures, the country says Manlipyong-1 is still functioning.

The spy satellites are part of North Korea’s efforts to step up its space surveillance of the United States.

The news comes months after the UN Security Council banned a North Korean satellite launch, describing it as a phony test of missile technology.

The United States condemned the initial launch as a violation of UN resolutions banning the country from developing ballistic missile technology.

“The President and his national security team are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners,” the Biden administration said in a statement. “We urge all nations to condemn this launch and [North Korea] To come to the negotiating table for serious negotiations.”

North Korea has previously warned that any interference with its spy satellite missions would be a “declaration of war.”