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At 6:41am local time today (May 31), residents from Seoul received alerts to prepare for evacuation after North Korea launched what state media called a "military reconnaissance satellite".
Image via @Kangphoto/Twitter.
Image via @SeesawGame248/Twitter.
The alerts were sent after North Korea had fired what it claimed to be a "space launch vehicle" southward, Yonhap reported.
The satellite launch ultimately failed with the launch vehicle descending into the sea, The Korea Herald reported.
However, North Korea vowed that a second attempt at a satellite launch would be conducted as soon as possible.
Satellite triggered air raid sirens and evacuation alerts
North Korea had earlier notified it planned to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite between May 31 and June 11, Yonhap reported.
They added that the spy satellite is "indispensable" to monitor "dangerous" and "reckless" military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea in real-time.
According to The Korea Herald, the launch was conducted at 6.27am, local time.
The South Korean military said that the satellite was fired southward and flew over the west of the island of Baengnyeong, triggering air raid sirens.
Satellite flew over the west of the island of Baengnyeong. Image via Google Maps.
🚨🚨 BREAKING: Sirens sounding in South Korea, Seoul ask citizens to take shelter after North Korea says launched suspected 'space launch vehicle' pic.twitter.com/orA7H60Lv8
— 𝑆𝐻♡𝐶𝐾𝑆_𝑆𝑆♎️🐸✨🕊️💫 (@CksSh33995) May 30, 2023
🔊| Emergency air raid sirens sounding in South Korea pic.twitter.com/Jy7wcxnu2f
— InsideNK (@inside_nk) May 30, 2023
Residents in Seoul also received alerts asking them to prepare for evacuation after North Korea's satellite launch.
Launch ended in failure
The satellite launch ended in failure, with the launch vehicle descending into the sea around 200 kilometres west of the island of Eocheong.
Launch vehicle descended into the sea around 200 kilometres west of Eocheong. Image via Google Maps.
According to the South Korean military, the satellite disappeared from the radar and did not reach the appointed point on the flight path indicated by North Korea.
According to North Korea's state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the satellite crashed due to a "loss of thrust because of [the] abnormal start of the second-stage motor after the first-stage separation while making a normal flight".
Further investigation to clarify the failure of the satellite launch will be conducted to overcome shortcomings and carry out the second launch as soon as possible, KCNA said.
Emergency alerts retracted
At 7.03am, the South Korean city government retracted its emergency alerts for evacuation, Yonhap reported.
It said that the alert was sent by mistake.
"It was an emergency action taken against the possibility of a crisis that can have an impact on the lives and the safety of citizens while the level of risks of the North Korean projectile was yet to be identified," a South Korean ministry official said, as quoted by Yonhap.
The early morning ordeal had thrown many Seoul residents off guard. The city also came under fire as the alert did not specify what was happening, and merely asked residents to prepare for an evacuation.
Naver, the biggest internet portal in South Korea, briefly went down after the satellite launch as a large number of people went online seeking information.
Satellite launch condemned
South Korea's National Security Council (NSC) condemned North Korea's satellite rocket launch, calling it a "grave violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation threatening peace and safety on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community", the presidential office said, as quoted by Yonhap.
Shortly after North Korea's spy satellite launch, South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol called for an emergency meeting.
The meeting was led by South Korea National Security Adviser Cho Tae Yong.
U.S. White House also released a statement condemning the launch of a "ballistic missile technology", which it viewed as a "brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions".
The White House urged all countries to condemn the launch.
"The door has not closed on diplomacy but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement."
Top image via @Kangphoto/Twitter and KCNA.