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A rocket launched by North Korea to deploy the country’s second spy satellite exploded shortly after liftoff on Monday, state media reported, a setback to ruler Kim Jong Un’s hopes of operating multiple satellites to better monitor the United States and South Korea.

Monday’s failed launch came hours after the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan met in Seoul for their first trilateral meeting in more than four years. It is highly unusual for North Korea to take provocative actions when China, its most important ally and economic partner, is conducting high-level diplomacy in the region.

The launch sparked criticism from the North’s neighbors because the UN bans North Korea from launching such missiles, viewing them as a cover for testing long-range missile technology.

The official Korean news agency KCNA reported that North Korea’s spaceport had launched a spy satellite aboard a new rocket. But KCNA said the rocket exploded shortly after liftoff during its first flight, presumably due to an engine problem.

KCNA quoted the unidentified deputy director of the National Aerospace Technology Administration as saying that a preliminary investigation found the explosion was related to the reliability of the newly developed liquid oxygen-petroleum engine. He said other possible causes were being investigated, according to KCNA.

The Japanese government briefly issued a missile warning for the southern prefecture of Okinawa and urged residents to seek shelter in buildings and other safe places. The warning was later lifted because the region was no longer in danger, Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara called the North’s launch a “serious challenge to the entire world.” The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command criticized the launch as a “brazen violation” of UN Security Council resolutions and said it involved technologies directly related to North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile program. South Korea’s Unification Ministry called the North’s satellite launch “a provocation that seriously threatens our and regional security.”

North Korea has stubbornly insisted it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles despite the US military threat. North Korea says operating spy satellites will allow it to better monitor the US and South Korea and improve the precision of its missiles.

During a trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for strong international action if North Korea goes ahead with its launch plan.

Kishida, for his part, urged the North to withdraw its launch plan, but Li did not mention the launch plan as he made general remarks about promoting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula through a political resolution.

Earlier on Monday, North Korea informed the Japanese coast guard of the planned launch and warned them to exercise caution in the waters between the Korean peninsula and China and east of the Philippine main island of Luzon during the launch period from Monday to June 3.

Some observers say North Korea’s satellite launch on the first day of the eight-day window may have been aimed at dampening the meeting between Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo and signaling China’s displeasure. Kim Jong Un is nurturing the idea of ​​a “new Cold War” and is trying to strengthen ties with Beijing and Moscow to form a common front against Washington. China’s diplomatic relations with Seoul and Tokyo may therefore have been a worrying development for Pyongyang.

Kim’s main focus in recent months has been Russia, as Pyongyang and Moscow – both embroiled in confrontations with Washington – expand their military cooperation. China, far more sensitive to its international reputation, has joined Russia in blocking US-led efforts to tighten sanctions on the North in the UN Security Council, but it has been less bold and outspoken in supporting Kim’s “new Cold War.”

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Monday sharply criticized a joint statement by Li, Yoon and Kishida, calling it “arbitrary interference in the country’s internal affairs.” The ministry criticized parts of the joint statement that said the three leaders had reaffirmed their existing positions on the issue of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

While North Korea has directed much of its criticism at South Korea, which it claims bears primary responsibility for the statement, it remains extremely rare for North Korea to sharply criticize a statement signed by China.

The failed satellite launch is a blow to Kim’s plans to launch three more military spy satellites in 2024, in addition to his country’s first military reconnaissance satellite, which was put into orbit last November.

The launch in November was preceded by two failed launches.

During the first attempt, the North Korean rocket carrying the satellite crashed into the sea shortly after launch. After the second attempt, North Korea said there had been a failure in the emergency ignition system during the flight of the third stage.