South Korean military officials suspect North Korea will attempt a third satellite launch on October 10. That's the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Korean Workers' Party.

After its second attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure on Thursday, North Korea's aerospace administration pledged to make a third attempt in October. It said there had been no problem with engine reliability and that it was working to determine the cause of the failure.

Following a botched first attempt in late May, the aerospace administration unsuccessfully launched the Malligyong-1 satellite at dawn Thursday on a new type of rocket called the Chollima-1 in the country's northwest.

The South Korean military has sent ships and planes to look for remnants of the Chollima-1 rocket in the ocean. It retrieved debris from North Korea's previous botched satellite launch in the Yellow Sea, west of the Korean Peninsula.

The South Korean and US militaries remain on the alert. Officials warn Pyongyang may try to fire a missile -- possibly an intercontinental ballistic missile -- as retaliation against an ongoing South Korea-US joint military exercise that is due to end on August 31.