North Korea did not conduct a spy satellite launch in October despite its declared plans to do so, a development that suggests Pyongyang may not have completed preparations for a third attempt this year, experts say.

Following a second failure in late August, state media said the country would next try to launch the Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite at an unspecified date in October.

At the time of the previous launch, state media attributed the failure to “an error in the emergency blasting system during the third-stage flight,” stating that authorities would take corrective measures before attempting the next launch.