North Korea unsuccessfully attempted to launch its first spy satellite on Wednesday, with the booster and payload plunging into the sea, North Korean state media said, a setback in a quest for a space program that dates back to the 1990s.
The United States, South Korea and the West have condemned North Korean spacecraft launches using ballistic missile technology, which is banned under UN Security Council resolutions.
The following is a timeline of the North’s space program, satellite launches, and the development of rocket technology:
•August 29, 2017: North Korea fires an intermediate-range missile over northern Japan, prompting residents to be warned to take cover. The missile lands in the Pacific Ocean, but sharply increases tensions in the region.
•January 13, 2021: During a party congress, leader Kim Jong Un reveals a wish list that includes the development of military reconnaissance satellites.
•December 19, 2022: North Korea said it conducted a “final stage” test of a spy satellite development at the Sohae launch station to check the satellite’s imaging, data transmission and control systems.
•March 16, 2023: North Korea test-fires the Hwasong-17 ICBM, its largest missile, which some analysts believe contains technology for space launch vehicles.
•May 25, 2023: Construction and preparations for the Sohae satellite launch station are progressing at a “remarkable pace”, says a US-based think tank.
•May 29, 2023: North Korea announced to Japan and the International Maritime Organization a plan to launch a satellite between May 31 and June 11.
•May 30, 2023: Ri Pyong Chol, the North’s top military official after leader Kim, says joint US-South Korean military exercises require Pyongyang to acquire “means capable of gathering information on the enemy’s military actions in real time.”
•May 31, 2023: North Korea attempts to launch a satellite, but the rocket plunges into the sea “after losing thrust due to abnormal start-up of the second stage engine,” state media KCNA said.
