North Korea reportedly launches spy satellite on third try

North Korean state media said the country successfully launched its first surveillance satellite into orbit late Tuesday night. South Korean military confirmed that the rocket had launched, but the satellite’s orbit was not independently confirmed Tuesday morning. It’s North Korea’s third attempt at putting a surveillance satellite into orbit, with two failed attempts in May and August. The United Nations has banned North Korea from launching satellites, believing the launches to be a cover-up for missile testing. Japanese officials broadcast a national warning to citizens about the satellite’s launch. The White House strongly condemned the launch, with National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson calling it “a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.”

Are the satellite’s capabilities known? Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said it’s unclear whether the satellite performs reconnaissance functions. South Korean officials say it’s possible that Russia aided North Korea in its latest launch. The satellite launch happened a little over a week before South Korea is scheduled to launch its first domestically developed surveillance satellite.

Dig deeper: Read Timothy Lamer’s book review in WORLD Magazine about a woman who escaped North Korea.