Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea’s attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite failed Wednesday when the second stage of the rocket failed, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that Pyongyang planned to carry out a second launch as soon as possible. North Korea’s National Space Development Agency said it would investigate the failure “urgently” and carry out another launch after new testing, KCNA reported. Earlier, South Korea’s military said Pyongyang fired a “space projectile,” triggering emergency alerts in Seoul and Japan, weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to prepare to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite. Wednesday’s launch triggered alarms in Japan, where alerts issued for the Okinawa prefecture were later recalled after authorities there determined there was no threat to Japanese territory. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectile was launched from Tongchang-ri, Pyongan province towards the south, and was detected flying over the west of Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea.

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