After crash
South Korea’s military recovers large piece of wreckage from North Korean space rocket
This photo provided by the Defense Ministry in Seoul is said to show the wreckage of the crashed carrier rocket from North Korea
© Uncredited / South Korea Defense Ministry / AP / DPA
Two weeks ago, a space rocket from North Korea crashed into the sea. The South Korean armed forces say they have now successfully pulled a large piece of the wreck out of the sea.
About two weeks after the crash of a North Korean missile intended to launch a reconnaissance satellite, South Korea’s military has recovered a large piece of wreckage. The general staff in Seoul announced on Friday that the cylindrical part was pulled out of the Yellow Sea on Thursday evening. It is therefore probably the second stage of the North Korean carrier rocket “Chollima-1”. According to reports from South Korean broadcasters, it is twelve meters long.
North Korea has admitted the missile crash
The wreckage will now be taken to a naval base on land and thoroughly examined by specialized institutions, including the state defense development agency, it said. Scientists hope the analysis of the recovered debris will provide insight into North Korea’s missile and satellite programs. The technology of space missiles and long-range military missiles differs little.
North Korea admitted the technical failure after the launch on May 31. The North Korean state news agency KCNA reported that the new satellite launch vehicle “Chollima-1” had sunk into the sea. The projectile “lost momentum due to an abnormal start of the two-stage motor.”
According to Pyongyang, the missile should launch its first satellite for military reconnaissance. The missile fell about 200 kilometers west of the South Korean island of Eocheong. The South Korean military then launched a full-scale salvage operation, dispatching a fleet of rescue ships, minesweepers and dozens of deep-sea divers. South Korea had already declared at the time that an object had been pulled out of the water that probably belonged to the rocket. The search for other parts is to be continued after the most recent find.
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The United States and its allies South Korea and Japan had condemned the missile launch. They accused North Korea of using technology directly related to its ballistic missile program. UN resolutions ban North Korea, which has already conducted several nuclear tests, from launching ballistic missiles of any range. Depending on the design, such rockets can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead.