South Korea salvages failed North Korean rocket wreckage

SEOUL, June 16 (UPI) -- South Korea's military has salvaged part of the rocket used by North Korea in last month's failed attempt to launch its first spy satellite, officials announced Friday.

The debris was recovered on Thursday evening from the Yellow Sea at a depth of around 250 feet, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message sent to reporters.

Pyongyang attempted to place what it claimed was a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit on May 31, but its Chollima-1 rocket splashed into the sea due to a second-stage engine failure.

After extensive salvage operations involving navy rescue ships, minesweepers and dozens of deep-sea divers, South Korea's military recovered what it believes to be part of the second stage of the rocket.

The military first spotted the roughly 50-foot-long section of debris shortly after the failed launch and began the complex recovery mission in an effort to gain insight into the state of the North's missile technology.

"The salvaged object will be transported to the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for detailed analysis jointly by South Korea and the U.S.," the JCS statement said.

The South Korean military is "continuing the operation by deploying ships and aircraft to search for and salvage additional debris," the JCS added.

Images of the recovered debris released by the military show a long white cylinder with the word "Cheonma" visible on the side, a reference to the mythical winged "sky horse" found in Korean folklore.

Washington and Seoul condemned the attempted satellite launch, saying it involved technology directly related to North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile program and violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Pyongyang claims a spy satellite is necessary to monitor what it calls hostile activities by U.S. and South Korean military forces on the peninsula and has vowed to conduct another launch soon.

Amid elevated tensions, a U.S. nuclear sub arrived in South Korea on Friday, one day after the North fired a pair of short-range ballistic missiles into the waters of Japan's exclusive economic zone.