Passengers watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a space rocket, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, August 24, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji)

Its first try in May also ended in failure when the new Chollima-1 rocket crashed into the sea. 

The pre-dawn launch came in the first hours of an eight-day window that North Korea had announced for the attempt. 

Pyongyang has been seeking to place what would be its first military spy satellite into orbit, saying it plans a fleet of satellites to monitor moves by US and South Korean troops.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the repeated missile launches were a threat to regional security. 

South Korea and the US condemned the launch as violating multiple UN Security Council resolutions.