WASHINGTON, May 27 (Yonhap) — The U.S. military on Monday denounced North Korea’s failed space rocket launch this week as a “brazen” breach of multiple U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, while reiterating its “ironclad” security commitment to South Korea and Japan.

The North said that it launched a new rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite from a launching site on its northwest coast on Monday, but the launch failed due to the air blast of the rocket during the first-stage flight.

“We are aware of the DPRK’s May 27 launch using ballistic missile technology, which, is a brazen violation of multiple unanimous UN Security Council resolutions, raises tensions, and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond,” U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.

DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“This launch involved technologies that are directly related to the DPRK intercontinental ballistic missile program,” it added
. “We are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners.”

The North has planned to launch three more satellites this year. In November, it successfully put its first military spy satellite into orbit.

The botched launch came amid speculation that deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow might have helped the North advance its weapons and other military programs.

Source: Yonhap News Agency