Seoul, South Korea

In the latest development from North Korea's spy satellite launch, it has been found that one of the stages of the rocket exploded after separation on Tuesday (Nov 21).

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As per analysts, the detonation was likely a deliberate destruction attempt to prevent recovery.

The footage was captured in a camera used by South Korea's Yonsei University to watch and study meteors, according to news agency Reuters.

"This time they appear to have detonated the first stage propellant in mid-air," Byun Yong-Ik, an astronomy professor at Yonsei University, told Reuters.

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"This kind of measure was not seen in the previous launch attempts, and it could have been an effort to prevent South Korean and US authorities from recovering the propellant as it is equipped with a new engine."

Marco Langbroek, a satellite expert at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, said the video showed the first and second stages, with the first stage blowing up after the separation of the second stage.

"This certainly is unusual," he told Reuters, noting that most rocket stages are left to fall into the sea.

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Langbroek then said that it wasn't yet clear if the act was intentional or an accident, however, North Korea said that it had used a destruct mechanism during its last launch in August as a safety measure after the rocket had failed.

 "I feel it is certainly possible that it was done intentionally, to prevent recovery of an intact stage by the West," he said.

The South Korean army is seeking to find and recover debris from the rocket, said South Korea's defence ministry on Thursday (Nov 23).

North Korea suspends military deal with South

Pyongyang on Thursday (Nov 23) suspended its military pact with Seoul further warning that it will "place strong armed forces and advanced military equipment in border areas."

It also condemned the South for placing the deal under strain through its "military provocations", stating that the agreement had "long been reduced to a mere scrap of paper".

The South "must pay dearly for their irresponsible and grave political and military provocations that have pushed the present situation to an uncontrollable phase," the ministry said.

This came after South announced that it would resume its surveillance operations along the border and would also partially suspend the 2018 deal.

(With inputs from agencies)