Nice weather on site… The rescue work started in four days
South Korea, US defense ministers agree to joint investigation into wreckage
At around 8:05 am on the 31st, the military identified and rescued an object believed to be part of a “North Korean space launch vehicle” in the sea about 200 km west of Eocheong Island. Provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff
On the 4th, the military resumed salvage work on some of the remains of a space launch vehicle launched by North Korea. It is said that there is a high possibility that it will be completely raised to the surface of the water during the day due to the favorable weather on the site. It has been four days since the army started the rescue operation.
A military official said in a phone call that day, “No additional wreckage has been identified other than the body found on the 31st.” Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop said at the National Assembly’s Defense Committee on the 2nd that the fuselage appeared to be the second stage of the rocket.
At around 5:30pm the day before (3rd), the military authorities said, “The underwater work is not going on today. It was difficult because the current speed at the site was 2 knots (3.7 km/h).” “If the rescue work proceeds as usual on the 4th, the projectile’s body may rise to the surface of the water,” he said.
Previously, on the 31st of last month, when North Korea launched a new Chollima type 1 launcher with a military reconnaissance satellite, Manri-gyeong 1, and failed, the military found some of the debris that had fallen from the sea 200 km to the west. from Eocheong Island and began rescue work. However, including the part of the fuselage that was underwater, the total length reached 15m, so it could not be fully raised, and the fuselage sank to the seabed at a depth of 75m.
The military dispatched the Cheonghaejin, a submarine rescue vessel capable of saturation diving, to the scene on the afternoon of the 2nd. The surface rescue ships, the Gwangyang and Tongyeong, are also in the process of being rescued.
When the rescue is complete, South Korea and the United States will jointly begin analyzing the wreckage. Minister Lee and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed to conduct a joint investigation between South Korea and the US on the side of the pond (summit meeting) on the occasion of the Asian Security Dialogue held in Singapore on the 3rd (local time) . The composition of the joint investigation team will be discussed later, an official from the Ministry of National Defense said. South Korea and the United States also conducted a joint investigation in December 2012 when they collected the remains of North Korea’s Eunha 3 long-range rocket.
