In a failed attempt to put a second one into orbit military spy satellite proceeded yesterday North Koreaas the launch vehicle exploded in flight, due to a “liquefied oxygen and kerosene engine reliability” problem.

Pyongyang said it had tried – in vain – to put the observation satellite into orbit, while Japanese public broadcaster NHK broadcast images showing a burning object in the night sky which then exploded.

In fact, yesterday Sunday, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that a group of Russian engineers arrived in North Korea to help prepare the launch.

Failure will not deter North Korea from trying again, Hong Min, an analyst at the South Korean Institute for National Unification, told AFP.

After all, all the “developing” countries space technologies have recorded satellite launch failures,” he explained.

The test follows North Korea’s announcement in November that it had launched its first reconnaissance satellite, a move that sparked international outcry. She says it provides her with footage of American and South Korean military installations in particular.

Pyongyang assures that this satellite is working properly, which Seoul’s intelligence service denies.

According to Seoul, Pyongyang received technical assistance from Moscow to launch the satellite in November in exchange for the delivery of weapons and ammunition for use in the war in Ukraine.

Min argues that thanks to data gathered in the first launch, Moscow’s “technical assistance” to Pyongyang “will be further accelerated to increase the chances of success of the next attempt.”

Seoul is “furious”.

South Korea today condemned North Korea’s failed attempt to launch a military spy satellite, calling the launch a “provocation” that poses a threat to regional stability.

It was a “violation of the decisions of the United Nations Security Council” and “regardless of the result, a provocative action”, Seoul said.