TOKYO, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Japan exploded a rocket carrying two spy satellites intended to monitor North Korea, the BBC reported Saturday.
Officials at the Japanese space program said the rocket had to be destroyed after take-off because of an unspecified technical failure. It was impossible to save the satellites.
The original launch had been scheduled for September, but was postponed three times because of technical problems.
"Shortly after the launch, we sent a destroy order to the rocket as we concluded that the mission cannot fulfil the purpose," said spokesperson Shoko Yamamoto.
Japan already has two satellites monitoring North Korea, suspected of developing nuclear weapons.
The satellite project was intended as a response to North Korea's firing of a ballistic missile over Japan into the Pacific in August 1998.
"It really shocked the Japanese. They realized that they've got to wake up and not be 100 percent reliant on the U.S.," Victor Cha, professor of government and asian studies at Georgetown University, in Washington, told the BBC.
