Evacuation alert, sirens cause panic in Seoul after North Korea launch

People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing what it called a space satellite toward the south, in Seoul, South Korea, May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Air raid sirens and a mobile phone alert calling for evacuations rattled residents of South Korea's capital, Seoul, early on Wednesday after North Korea tried to launch what it said was a satellite.

Nuclear-armed North Korea's sixth satellite launch ended in failure, with the booster and payload plunging into the sea, but it still prompted emergency alerts and evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan.