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(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 12-13) By Song Sang-ho, Lee Minji and Chae Yun-hwan SEOUL/WASHINGTON, May 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Tuesday that its latest attempt to launch a new rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure due to the midair explosion of the rocket during the first-stage flight this week. The vice general director of the North's National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) said the rocket carrying the satellite, the Malligyong-1-1, exploded after it lifted off from the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the country's northwest coast on Monday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The launch came just hours after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a trilateral summit in Seoul and reaffirmed their commitment to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. It came in defiance of international warnings and criticism that any launch using bal

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SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- The following is the full text of a joint declaration issued after the ninth trilateral summit of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Seoul Monday. Joint Declaration of the Ninth ROK-Japan-China Trilateral Summit 1. President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio, and Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Qiang convened in Seoul, Republic of Korea on May 27, 2024, on the occasion of the Ninth Trilateral Summit. 2. Recalling that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the trilateral cooperation, we shared the view that the previous eight Trilateral Summits held since 2008 and the establishment of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) in 2011 have laid a solid foundation for institutionalizing the trilateral cooperation. We reaffirmed our commitment to implementation of the Trilateral Cooperation Vision for the N

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SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea launched an unidentified projectile on Monday, South Korea's military said, after the country announced a satellite launch plan. The North launched the projectile in a southward direction over the Yellow Sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to reporters without providing further details, including where it was launched from. Pyongyang had earlier notified Japan that it will launch a satellite sometime before June 4 and designated three areas, where rocket debris will fall, as a precaution for safety. The liftoff came on the first day of the eight-day launch window. The launch also came after President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a trilateral summit in Seoul on Monday and reaffirmed their commitment to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. During the summit, Yoon and Kishida also urged the North to call off the launch plan. If confirmed, it would mark

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(ATTN: ADDS more details in paras 5-6) By Kim Eun-jung SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Leaders of South Korea, Japan and China reaffirmed their commitment to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula during their summit in Seoul on Monday, hours after the North announced a satellite launch plan. President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang reached the agreement after the North notified Japan of its plan to launch a space rocket carrying a military spy satellite sometime before June 4. "We reaffirmed that maintaining peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia serves our common interest and is our common responsibility," a joint declaration of the trilateral summit said. "We reiterated positions on regional peace and stability, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the abduction issue, respectively. We agree to continue to make positive efforts for the political settlement of the Kore

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(ATTN: UPDATES with S. Korean military's drills throughout; ADDS photo) SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military on Monday staged an air exercise near the border with North Korea in response to North Korea's planned launch of what it claims to be a military spy satellite. Around 20 fighter jets, including F-35A stealth fighters, conducted the drills in a central region south of a no fly-zone near the inter-Korean border, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, hours after the North notified Japan of its plan to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite between Monday and midnight of June 3. "This strike package exercise was conducted to demonstrate the resolve and capabilities to punish immediately, strongly and until the end if the enemy undertakes a provocation," the JCS said in a statement. North Korea's notice came before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a trilateral meeting in Seoul

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(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details) By Chae Yun-hwan SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired what it claims to be a military spy satellite Monday, but the projectile ended up as multiple pieces of debris shortly after launch, South Korea's military said, an apparent indication that Pyongyang's satellite launch plan ended in failure. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the suspected satellite-carrying rocket being launched in a southward direction over the Yellow Sea from the Tongchang-ri area in the country's northwest at about 10:44 p.m. The projectile, however, was detected as multiple pieces of debris in the country's waters two minutes later, the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters, noting that a detailed analysis is under way between the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States about whether the projectile flew normally. Pyongyang had earlier notified Japan that it will launch a satellite sometime before June 4 and des

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(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks by South Korean military in 6th para) SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a space rocket carrying a satellite between Monday and midnight of June 3, Kyodo News reported, citing Japan's coast guard. The notice on the eight-day window came as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are set to hold a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Monday, where evolving North Korean threats are likely to figure prominently. It designated three areas where debris will fall -- two west of the Korean Peninsula and the other east of the Philippines' island of Luzon, according to the news outlet. Pyongyang has made public a plan to launch three more satellites this year following its first military reconnaissance satellite launch in November. The launch plan comes despite international criticism that any launch using ballistic missile technology is in violation of

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SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday asked Chinese Premier Li Qiang for Beijing's cooperation on the issue of North Korean defectors, the presidential office said. Yoon made the request during one-on-one talks held on the sidelines of a trilateral summit also involving Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung. Yoon further asked that China play a "constructive role" in maintaining the global nonproliferation regime as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, a reference to Beijing's role in reining in North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Li responded that China has worked for the peaceful resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue and considers political stability to also be important. "We are well aware of South Korea's concerns, and let us continue to communicate in the future," he was quoted as saying by the presidential office. hague@yna.co.kr

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By Kim Eun-jung SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Leaders of South Korea, China and Japan were set to meet in Seoul on Monday for their first trilateral summit in over four years amid rising tension over North Korea's impending spy satellite launch. President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will sit down for a trilateral summit, the ninth such meeting and the first since December 2019, following a hiatus due to COVID-19 and historical disputes among the Asian neighbors. The leaders are expected to explore cooperation in the economic, trade and health sectors while aiming to avoid friction, as Seoul and Tokyo have aligned more closely with Washington amid its intensifying rivalry with Beijing. China is the largest trading partner of South Korea and Japan. The trilateral session will discuss ways to promote cooperation in six specific areas -- economy and trade, sustainable development, health issues, science and technology, di

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