North Korea has fired what it claims is a military spy satellite southwards, Seoul’s armed forces said Tuesday, hours after Japan confirmed that Pyongyang had warned it of an imminent launch.
North Korea’s previous efforts to put a spy satellite into orbit in May and August both failed, and Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have repeatedly warned Pyongyang not to proceed with another launch, which would violate successive rounds of UN resolutions.
“North Korea has fired what it claims is a military surveillance satellite in a southwards direction,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.