SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired an unidentified projectile onto a southern road off its west coast on Monday, the South Korean military said, hours after Pyongyang said it would launch a satellite before June 4.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the launch apparently took place from the Dongchang-ri region in the northwest of the country, where North Korea's main space flight center is located.
On Monday, the Japanese government issued an emergency warning to residents in the south to take shelter from the potential threat of a North Korean missile, before lifting the warning and saying that it is not expected to fly over Japanese territory.
Japan said via its J-Alert broadcast system that North Korea appeared to have fired a missile, and sent a warning to residents in the southern prefecture of Okinawa.
North Korea notified Japan earlier today that it plans to launch a satellite from May 27 to June 4.
The launch is likely an attempt by nuclear-armed North Korea to put a second spy satellite into orbit. After several failed attempts that ended with the missiles crashing, North Korea succeeded in putting its first satellite into orbit in November.
NHK showed a video of what appeared to be an orange dot flying in the night sky and then catching fire in an area near the border between China and North Korea.
A Japanese Defense Ministry official told reporters that the color of the flame in the footage indicates that liquid fuel may be burning, but details are currently being analysed, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The first satellite of the North “alive”
The South Korean military said on Friday that it had detected indications of preparations for a possible launch from the Dongchang-ri site in North Korea.
In February, US space experts said North Korea's first spy satellite, dubbed Malyjeong-1, was “alive”, after detecting changes in its orbit that suggested Pyongyang was successfully controlling the spacecraft – despite… Although her abilities are still unknown.
North Korean state media reported that the satellite transmitted images of the Pentagon and the White House, among other areas, but did not publish any of the images.
The successful launch in November was the first after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare trip abroad in September and toured Russia's newest space launch center, where President Vladimir Putin promised to help Pyongyang build satellites.
Neither country has clarified the extent of this future aid, which could violate UN Security Council resolutions against North Korea.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing an unnamed senior South Korean defense official, that Russian experts visited North Korea to help with its satellite and space missile program.
Pyongyang said it needs a military reconnaissance satellite to enhance monitoring of the military activities of the United States and South Korea.