N Korea says spy satellite launch ends in failure

North Korea’s latest attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit ended in a mid-air explosion, Pyongyang said late Monday, hours after its announcement of a planned launch was criticised by Seoul and Tokyo.

Putting a spy satellite into orbit has long been a top priority for Kim Jong Un’s regime, and it claimed to have succeeded in November, after two failed attempts last year.

Seoul claims Kim received Russian technical assistance for that launch, in return for sending containers of weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine.

But its attempt Monday to launch the “Malligyong-1-1” reconnaissance satellite ended in failure after it “exploded in the…