North Korea's space launch program and long-range missile projects

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a rocket carrying a space satellite between Nov. 22 and Dec. 1, which would be the third attempt by Pyongyang to put a military spy satellite in orbit after two failures this year.

In September, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said during a tour he gave of a modern space launch station that Moscow would help Pyongyang build a satellite.

The following is a timeline of North Korea's space program, satellite launches and development of rocket technology.

Aug. 31, 1998: North Korea begins its space program by launching a Kwangmyongsong-1 satellite on a Paektusan rocket from the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground near the east coast. Pyongyang declares it a success, but U.S. officials say it broke up over the Pacific Ocean.

April 5, 2009: Then-leader Kim Jong Il oversees the launch of the Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite from the Tonghae complex, but it again fails and crashes in the ocean. State media suggest that 14 North Korean soldiers were killed during the launch.