<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">North Korea's second attempt to put a spy satellite into space has failed, three months after its first launch crashed into the sea.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The attempt on Thursday morning failed during the third stage of its flight, state media said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a spy satellite is a coveted prize, as it would let him monitor incoming attacks and plot his own more accurately.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pyongyang's space agency has said it will try again in October.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Korea said it detected the launch of the rocket at around 03:50 local time (18:50 GMT), and that it had flown through international airspace over the Yellow Sea between mainland China and the Korean peninsula.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The launch prompted an emergency warning in Japan's southernmost Okinawa prefecture minutes later, urging residents to take cover indoors. The alert was lifted after about 20 minutes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Condemning the launch, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said: "Behaviour like this goes against the UN resolutions and we're already firmly protesting."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US urged North Korea to refrain from "further threatening activity" and called on Pyongyang to engage in serious diplomacy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But although Thursday's failure will have been disappointing for Pyongyang, it appears they've made progress.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A news report in state-run KCNA blamed the failure on "an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight", and said the problem was "not a big issue".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It seems the rocket carrying the satellite flew further than during the previous attempt. Officials in Pyongyang had described the botched attempt in May as their "gravest failure" while vowing to try again.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And Mr Kim will most likely continue, until he succeeds. Already he is forging ahead with his weapons programme, while refusing all offers to talk to the US.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It comes days after leaders from the US, Japan and South Korea met at a historic summit in Washington. It also follows the start of annual military exercises between Washington and Seoul. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>