North Korea announced that a space missile carrying a military reconnaissance satellite it launched on Wednesday "crashed into the sea" due to a technical defect, according to the official News Agency.

"The new space rocket Cheulima-1 crashed into the West Sea," the Korean name for the Yellow Sea, the Agency said, citing the National Aviation Development Administration.

It added that the missile "lost its momentum due to a malfunction in the engine of the second layer, after the first layer separated during a normal flight."

It explained, that this failure is due "to the lack of reliability and stability of the engine system of the new type applied to the space rocket Chiulima-1, and to the unstable nature of the fuel used."

On Wednesday, the South Korean army announced that North Korea had launched what it described as a "space missile", in a move that activated for a short time the air attack warning systems in both the capital, Seoul, and the Japanese region of Okinawa.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said that Pyongyang launched to the south "what it says is a space launch vehicle."

Japan declared that North Korea had violated UN Security Council resolutions by launching a "ballistic missile."

On Tuesday, North Korea confirmed its intention to launch a satellite for military espionage purposes, "to confront the dangerous military moves of the United States and its followers.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency