North Korea said its second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed Thursday and it will make a third attempt in October, the country's state media reported.
The North’s state news agency said Thursday’s launch ended in a failure because of an error that happened during a three-stage flight of the rocket.
It cited the country’s aerospace agency as saying that North Korea will conduct a third attempt in October after finding what caused a failure.
The announcement followed a statement by South Korea’s military that North Korea had launched a long-range rocket.
In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the US and South Korea. North Korea had since vowed to make a second attempt.
Launch 'violates UN resolutions'
North Korea's attempted satellite launch violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions, the US State Department said late on Wednesday, adding Washington sought dialogue with Pyongyang "without preconditions."
The United States urged North Korea to refrain from "further threatening activity" and called on Pyongyang to engage in serious diplomacy, a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
(France 24 with Reuters and AP)
