North Korea Calls Failed Spy Satellite Launch ‘The Most Serious’ Shortcoming, Vows 2nd Launch

North Korea Calls Failed Spy Satellite Launch ‘The Most Serious’ Shortcoming, Vows 2nd Launch
In this photo provided by the North Korean regime, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends an enlarged plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, which was held between June 16 and 18, 2023, at the party's headquarters in Pyongyang, North Korea. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:

SEOUL, South Korea—Top North Korean officials vowed to push for a second attempt to launch a spy satellite as they called their country’s first, and failed, launch last month “the most serious” shortcoming this year and harshly criticized those responsible, state media reported Monday.

In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite crashed soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un’s push to acquire a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the United States and South Korea.