North Korea's failure to launch a satellite on Monday, May 27, could implicitly confirm speculation that Russia is assisting Pyongyang's military space program in exchange for shells and missiles, in violation of UN sanctions.
Launched from the Sohae site in the northwestern Pyongyang region, the Malligyong-1-1 spy satellite exploded two minutes after liftoff. Its debris fell into the Yellow Sea. Quoted by KCNA, North Korea's state news agency, a "preliminary" analysis by the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) attributed the accident to the "operational reliability of the newly developed liquid oxygen and oil engine."
According to specialists, the use of the term "newly" may indicate the presence of Russian technicians alongside their North Korean counterparts. Nations with advanced space programs have also moved away from using hydrogen, due to the toxic substances released as fuel burns, the lengthy fueling time, and the higher rates of explosion, said Hong Min, head of North Korean research at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-funded think tank in Seoul; it may have used kerosene, as the Americans and Russians do.
In 2023, Pyongyang failed in its first two launches due to failures of its hydrazine-powered Baektusan engine. It eventually managed to put a spy satellite into orbit in November, which has reportedly been operating intermittently. This successful placement had already raised the question of a possible role played by Moscow.
The first questions about a Russian contribution to North Korean technology date back to leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Russia in September 2023. At the time, Vladimir Putin's choice to receive his counterpart at the site of the brand-new Vostochny cosmodrome, in the Russian far east, was interpreted as a signal in this direction.
The North Korean leader was given explanations on how the new Angara launchers and Soyuz-2 rockets operated. When asked about possible Russian help in launching North Korean satellites, Putin replied, "That's why we have come here. (...) The (North Korean) leader shows keen interest in rocket technology. They're trying to develop space, too."
However, Putin was much more evasive on the question of military cooperation. "We'll discuss all topics," he said, avoiding a direct response. The avenues of cooperation between the two countries are, in fact, not limited to the military sphere. There is, for example, talk of Russia's supplying oil, or of Moscow's using North Korean workers sent to Russia by Pyongyang – again in violation of international sanctions imposed on the North Korean regime. The Russian leader is, in turn, expected in North Korea, although the date is as yet unknown.
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