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North Korea’s latest satellite launch failed in a fireball in the sky on Monday evening.
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This comes after South Korean media reported that Russia helped Pyongyang’s space program.
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Yonhap reported that a “large number” of Russian experts had entered North Korea before the launch.
North Korea announced Monday that its latest spy satellite launch ended in the explosion of its rocket just minutes after liftoff — a third failure in its last four attempts to put a satellite into orbit.
This is despite the fact that Russian space experts recently arrived to lead North Korea’s space program, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported a day before the failed launch, citing a senior defense official who was not named.
Yonhap wrote that a “large number” of Russian technicians had entered North Korea after Russian leader Vladimir Putin offered to support Pyongyang with its satellite launches last year.
It is unclear exactly how many technicians were sent to North Korea, when they may have arrived or how they informed Pyongyang.
The senior South Korean defense official told the agency that the Russian experts likely applied high standards, causing a delay between North Korea’s latest satellite launch and preparations for Monday’s attempt.
Yonhap reported that North Korea’s space rockets are also likely experiencing problems with their second- and third-stage engines.
That could be a harbinger of even deeper problems in Pyongyang’s space program; the explosion at Monday’s launch occurred during the rocket’s first phase of flight.
North Korean state media quoted a space official as saying preliminary investigations showed the rocket’s new liquid oxygen and petroleum engine was to blame. However, he also said there may have been other reasons for the launch failure.
Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, and the Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular business hours.
Relations between Russia and North Korea have come under scrutiny in the past year after the US accused them of trafficking weapons and materials used in the war in Ukraine.
According to the accusations by the US and its allies, Moscow sent raw materials, food and technical expertise to Pyongyang in exchange for shipments of artillery ammunition and missiles that Ukraine reportedly saw on the battlefield.
South Korea has said for months that North Korea’s only successful satellite launch in 2023 was the result of Russian help.
Pyongyang launched the Malligyong-1 in November and claims it is still functioning, although Seoul said in February it discovered the satellite is no longer communicating with the ground.
However, some international experts said that month that they had seen signs of Malligyong-1 activity.
North Korea’s repeated satellite launches are a concern for the U.S. and its allies, which have sought to limit their nuclear weapons and space programs through sweeping sanctions. Pyongyang’s repeated tests in ballistics and space launches indicate that the country has been able to persevere despite global restrictions.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command noted that Pyongyang’s launch on Monday appeared to use technology related to North Korea’s ballistic missile program. It condemned the launch as a “brazen violation” of United Nations resolutions that could destabilize regional security.
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