Seoul retrieves N. Korea rocket's debris

Four pieces of debris from North Korea's long-range rocket, retrieved off Eocheong Island in the West Sea, are displayed on the salvage vessel Tongyeong at Pyeongtaek Port, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The dented cylindrical object on the left is believed to be the fairing connecting the rocket's first and second stages, while the other pieces are presumed to be parts of a combustion gas jet nozzle. / Yonhap

By Chung Ah-young

The Navy has retrieved debris from North Korea's long-range rocket, which was launched on Feb. 7, from the West Sea, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.

The ministry said that the three pieces of debris are believed to be part of the rocket's combustion gas jet nozzle. The pieces were recovered 105 kilometers off Eocheong Island in the West Sea early in the morning.

The debris is presumed to have separated from the rocket's first stage shortly after the Kwangmyongsong-4 was launched on Sunday. The rocket's first stage is believed to have exploded into some 270 pieces before falling into the West Sea 410 kilometers from the North's Sohae Satellite Launching Station.

If the debris is found to be part of the booster rocket's combustion gas jet nozzle, it is expected to help in analysis of North Korea's long-range missile technology.

The Navy said that it first detected the debris on the sea floor some 80 meters below sea level near Eocheong Island on Tuesday and pulled them out on Thursday, using a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) carried by the 3,500-ton Navy salvage ship Tongyeong.

The Navy said that it will send the debris to the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for further analysis.

"We could detect the debris as the vessels deployed at expected spots, including an Aegis destroyer, tracked the rocket's location through radar," said Navy Commander Kim Ho-jin. "We succeeded in retrieving the pieces after the Tongyeong and minesweeping vessels pinpointed the exact locations, deploying the ROV to confirm the objects and then dispatching divers to the spot."

On Sunday, the Navy recovered a piece of floating debris southwest of Jeju Island, which was believed to be the rockets fairing and delivered it to the ADD. On Monday, it used the ROV to retrieve the debris near Eocheong Island, believed to be a connection part for the rocket's first and second stages. It was the military's first time to salvage rocket debris using the ROV.

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