North Korea Vows to Put Spy Satellite in Orbit Soon after Failed Launch

This picture taken on May 31, 2023 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 1, 2023 shows a new satellite-carrying rocket as it leaves the launch pad, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on May 31, 2023 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 1, 2023 shows a new satellite-carrying rocket as it leaves the launch pad, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
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North Korea Vows to Put Spy Satellite in Orbit Soon after Failed Launch

This picture taken on May 31, 2023 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 1, 2023 shows a new satellite-carrying rocket as it leaves the launch pad, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on May 31, 2023 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on June 1, 2023 shows a new satellite-carrying rocket as it leaves the launch pad, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, leader Kim Jong Un's sister, said her country would soon put a military spy satellite into orbit and promised Pyongyang would increase its military surveillance capabilities, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

The remarks by Kim, a powerful ruling party official, came a day after a failed attempt at launching the country's first spy satellite, which plunged into sea, Reuters said.

Kim rejected condemnation of the launch by Washington and other countries as an infringement of its sovereign right to space development.

"It is certain that (North Korea's) military reconnaissance satellite will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future and start its mission," Kim said in an English-language statement carried by KCNA.

Soon after the launch vehicle failed, South Korea detected debris that splashed down off its west coast and began a salvage operation in the hopes of studying the new rocket.

"The part we found appears to be the second stage of the rocket," South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup told parliament on Thursday. "We are continuing search operations to find more, including the third stage and the payload.

A large and heavy object remains submerged, and will require time and specialized equipment to raise it, Lee added.

It was not clear when the North might try another launch. It may take weeks or more to resolve the problems that caused the rocket's failure, a South Korean lawmaker said on Wednesday, citing the South's intelligence agency.

In a rare and swift admission of the setback, KCNA reported just hours after the launch that the Chollima-1 rocket, carrying a military reconnaissance satellite known as "Malligyong-1", crashed into the sea after the second stage engine failed.

KCNA also published on Thursday images of what it said was the new rocket lifting off from a coastal launch pad. The white-and-gray rocket had a bulbous nose, apparently for carrying a satellite or other cargo.

The photos confirmed that the rocket is a new design, said Ankit Panda of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"The launch used the new coastal launch pad they've built at Tongchang-ri, so we might see a larger space launch vehicle use the traditional gantry that has seen some work recently," he added.

US-based monitors, including 38 North and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, reported that commercial satellite imagery showed significant activity at the main pad after Wednesday's launch.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it could be presumed from North Korea's state media photos that the rocket was launched from a new pad.

Wednesday's launch was widely criticized, including by South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Speaking in Tokyo, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, "North Korea's dangerous and destabilizing nuclear and missile programs threaten peace and stability in the region."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said any launch by Pyongyang using ballistic missile technology breaches Security Council resolutions, a spokesperson said.

In her statement, Kim Yo Jong said the criticisms of the launch were "self-contradiction" as the US and other countries have already launched "thousands of satellites."

"The US is a group of gangsters who would claim that even if the DPRK launches a satellite ... it is illegal and threatening," she said, using the initials of North Korea's official name.

South Korea's foreign ministry said Kim's claim is based on "distorted" views that defy the United Nations' hope for regional peace.

In a separate statement carried by KCNA, North Korea's vice foreign minister Kim Son Gyong criticized US-led military drills in the region including a multinational anti-proliferation naval drill.



Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
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Troops Kill 30 Militants Attempting to Sneak into Pakistan from Afghanistan

Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025.  EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER
Police officers stand guard to secure a procession during the mourning month of Muharram in Karachi, Pakistan, 03 July 2025. EPA/SHAHZAIB AKBER

Pakistani security forces killed 30 militants who attempted to enter the country from Afghanistan, the military said Friday.

It said the members of the Pakistani Taliban were spotted overnight in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the troops seized weapons, ammunition and explosives from the militants. The military's statement did not mention if there was a gunfight or other details of the operation.

The military alleged the militants were backed by India and asked the Afghan government to prevent the use of its territory by “foreign proxies” to attack Pakistan, The Associated Press reported.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Pakistani authorities often accuse India of backing outlawed groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and Pakistani Taliban who commit violence in Pakistan. Such accusations have increased since a shooting in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed nations.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the successful operation.

Pakistani troops killed 54 insurgents in the same area in April.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent months, much of it blamed on the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate from the Afghan Taliban but closely allied with them. Many of its leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021.