North Korea has announced that it failed launching what it calls a rocket. Pyongyang says an accident occurred while it was aiming to put a new satellite into orbit.

North Korea says the rocket took off on Wednesday morning from a launching station in the country's northwest. But it suffered a malfunction and crashed into the Yellow Sea.

South Korea's military says it has been able to locate where it went down about 200 kilometers west of the island of Eocheong.

It released photos of what are believed to be debris recovered from the crash site.

Lee Kwang-sub from South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, "Our military is fully on alert for any further provocations by North Korea such as another launch of the space launch vehicle."

On Monday, North Korea warned Japan it would launch a military reconnaissance satellite sometime over the next week and a half. And it now says it will carry out a second launch as soon as possible. An expert is certain about the next attempt.

Koda Yoji, former vice admiral of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, said, "I am not sure how soon the next launch will be. Generally speaking, I would expect to take a considerable amount of time to prepare. But I would say they will launch again for sure."

The Japanese government believes the launch was a test of ballistic missile technology, regardless of the North's terminology.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu said, "Such ballistic missile launches violate Security Council resolutions. Japan has lodged a strong protest and has strongly condemned Pyongyang."

Experts say the North's possession of a military satellite will allow Pyongyang to detect the movements of US aircraft carriers in real time.

Isozaki Atsuhito, professor from Keio University, said, "Rather than simply extending the range of missiles, North Korea has a mid to long-term intention to possess a variety of weapons and improve military forces and deterrence."

Japan's Defense Ministry is also maintaining its readiness for another possible launch. Land-based interceptor systems will remain deployed in Okinawa Prefecture and prepared to shoot down any missile threatening Japanese territory.