North Korea’s attempt to launch a spy satellite ended in failure as the rocket carrying it crashed into the sea. Meanwhile, South Korea clarified that an evacuation alert sent by text message to Seoul residents was “incorrectly issued.”

North Korea attempted to launch a spy satellite Wednesday. Still, it crashed into the sea after a rocket failure, with the South Korean military retrieving part of the likely wreckage in a potential intelligence bonanza.

North Korea does not have a functioning satellite in space, and leader Kim Jong Un has made developing a military spy satellite a top priority for his regime, despite UN resolutions banning its use of such technology.

Pyongyang had said in the build-up to the launch attempt that the satellite would be vital to monitoring the military movements of the United States and its allies.

But the rocket lost thrust and plunged into the sea with its satellite payload, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

It added that authorities would investigate the “serious defects” revealed by the launch and conduct another test as soon as possible.

South Korea’s military said it had managed to locate and salvage some suspected debris.

It released images showing a large barrel-like metal structure with thin pipes and wires at the bottom, which experts said might be a liquid fuel tank.

Panic, confusion

The launch prompted confusion and panic in Seoul, as city authorities sent residents an early morning emergency evacuation alert and blasted an air raid siren across the downtown area.

It sparked widespread consternation online, before the interior ministry clarified minutes later the alert had been “incorrectly issued.”

Japan briefly activated its missile alert warning system for the Okinawa region early Wednesday, lifting it after about 30 minutes.

Condemnation

Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington all slammed the launch, which they said violated a raft of UN resolutions barring Pyongyang from any tests using ballistic missile technology.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for North Korea to cease “such acts” and return to the negotiating table.

North Korea said Tuesday its new spy satellite would be “indispensable to tracking, monitoring… and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal forces.”

Miroslava Salazar with AFP