Seoul Military Releases Photos Of Salvaged N Korea Spy Satellite Debris

South Korea's military released images of part of a North Korean spy satellite that crashed soon after launch Wednesday due to a rocket failure, with Seoul's military finding and salvaging the debris.

The images show a large barrel-like metal structure with some thin pipes and wires at the bottom, which South Korea's military said it salvaged in waters 200 kilometres (124 miles) west of Eocheong Island.

North Korea said the satellite crashed into the sea soon after as an "accident occurred" during its flight, state media said.

Pyongyang does not have a functioning satellite in space and leader Kim Jong Un has made developing a military spy satellite a top priority for his regime, personally overseeing some launch preparations.

North Korean space authorities "launched a military reconnaissance satellite, 'Malligyong-1', mounted on a new-type carrier rocket, 'Chollima-1', at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Cholsan County of North Phyongan Province at 6:27 on May 31," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

But the rocket crashed into the sea "after losing thrust due to the abnormal starting of the second-stage engine after the separation of the first stage during the normal flight," it said.