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South Korea has issued a navigational warning for vessels regarding North Korea’s planned launch of a satellite later this month. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries issued the warning in response to Pyongyang’s notification to Tokyo of its intention to launch a satellite between August 24 and August 31.

North Korea has specified three maritime zones that could be affected by the planned launch – one in the Yellow Sea, another in the East China Sea, and a third zone east of the Philippines. Although South Korean ships do not frequently pass through these zones, the government will enhance monitoring and provide relevant information to ensure safety at sea.

Navigational warnings are disseminated to shipping through the World-Wide Navigational Warning System (WWNWS), a global radio and satellite broadcast system established by the International Maritime Organization.

The planned satellite launch may be North Korea’s second attempt to put a military spy satellite into orbit. In May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite crashed into the Yellow Sea shortly after liftoff due to an engine failure. North Korea has expressed its intention to make a second attempt “soon.”

South Korea’s spy agency recently informed lawmakers that North Korea could launch a reconnaissance satellite in late August or early September, coinciding with the regime’s 75th anniversary on September 9. The launch plan comes shortly after the start of South Korea and the United States’ annual military drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Shield.

North Korea has consistently criticized these drills as a rehearsal for invasion, while South Korea and the United States maintain that they are purely defensive in nature. In a trilateral summit held at Camp David, the leaders of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan agreed to cooperate more closely in countering North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.

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