North Korea fails to send a spy satellite into orbit

North Korea has said Monday its efforts to send another spy satellite into orbit have failed.

North Korean state media said the missile carrying the spy satellite exploded amid the air Monday.

The failure of the engine probably caused the explosion, according to the northeastern state media.

Earlier, South Korea and Japan said that they had observed the launch of a North Korean spy satellite.

South Korean General Staff said it noted the launch of the missile from the main North Space Centre to the northeast on Monday.

He said in a communiqué to the media that the North launched the missile in the southbound road off the western coast of the Korean Peninsula. A few minutes after the launch, according to the southwestern headquarters, many fragments of the rocket were seen in the waters of the peninsula.

North Korea sent its first military tracker satellite into orbit in November last year, trying to build a surveillance network in space to confront, it says, US-led military threats.

Later, northeastern leader Kim Jong Un had said during a meeting of the ruling party that the country would issue three additional spy satellites in 2024.

But she failed two spy satellites since the launch process.

The United Nations has banned the launch of satellites from North Korea, labeling it a disguise for testing long-range missile technology.

But North Korea has insisted that it has the right to launch satellites and conduct missile tests.

Kim has said that spy satellites will enable his army to observe better US and South Korean military activities. /rel