The South Korean army said on Friday that it had managed to recover a large part of the North Korean rocket that had crashed at sea, after 15 days of research.
North Korea had tried on May 31 to put its first military surveillance satellite into orbit, but the device and its payload had “damaged at sea” shortly after the launch due, according to Pyongyang, to a failure. of the launcher.
After deploying a fleet of ships and minesweepers, as well as dozens of divers, the South Korean army said it was able to recover the main element of the launcher late Thursday in the Yellow Sea.
“The recovered element will be analyzed in detail by specialized institutions such as the national agency for the development of defense,” said the general staff of the armies in a press release.
The piece was recovered from a depth of about 75 meters some 200 kilometers southwest of Eocheong Island, the statement added. Images released by South Korea’s Defense Ministry show a long, cylindrical white metal structure with the word “Chonma” inscribed on it, possibly the short form of the rocket’s official name, Chollima-1.
The May 31 launch was criticized by the United States, South Korea and Japan, who said it violated United Nations resolutions banning the nuclear-armed country from carrying out tests using the ballistic missile technology.
According to analysts, there are important points of technological convergence between the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and space-launch capabilities.
Seoul had been working for two weeks to recover the wreckage of the launch vehicle, as its debris could help scientists better understand Pyongyang’s ballistic missile and satellite programs.
After the May 31 failure, North Korea promised that it would soon successfully launch a military reconnaissance satellite.
Since escalating tensions in 2019 with its neighbor, North Korea has accelerated its military development and declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power through its leader, Kim Jong Un.
The latter called for an “exponential” increase in North Korea’s arsenal, including tactical nuclear weapons.
16/06/2023 06:36:45 – Seoul (AFP) © 2023 AFP