The China National Space Administration was involved in the development of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, which had a 72-faced polyhedral shape, similar to Dong Fang Hong I, the first Chinese satellite.

By mid-August, U.S. intelligence had detected activity consistent with preparation and support of a missile flight test, and on 31 August, North Korea launched the Paektusan-1 in an attempt to place a small satellite into earth orbit.

[8] North Korean media did not announce the test until 4 September, one day before the Supreme People's Assembly amended the DPRK Constitution to usher in the Kim Jong-il era.

On 2 September, the official spokesman of the consulate general of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Nakhodka has refused to comment to Russian news agency ITAR-TASS on the launching of a medium-range missile from the territory of his country.

[10] However, the Chinese government had expressed concern over the proposed joint US-Japanese Theater Missile Defense (TMD) plan and warned that, "Japan and the United States should exercise restraint and refrain from doing anything that may cause tensions in the region".

Yakovlev also reported that an accident during the launch caused the rocket to change its trajectory and therefore not enter the tracking zone of Russian monitoring systems.

Ministry sources said that no agreements on missile launch warnings exist between Russian and North Korea, and that no one was notified about the test ahead of time.

In his U.N speech on 25 September 1998, South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Hong Soon-young called on the global community to make a concerted effort to deter North Korea from developing, testing, and exporting missiles.

He also released a joint press statement with Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright condemning North Korea's missile launch, but reaffirming support for the 1994 Agreed Framework.

[15] On 10 September, the United States announced a package of agreements aimed at defusing tensions and resuming the stalled Four Party Talks on the Korean Peninsula[16] U.S. President Bill Clinton used his executive authority to circumvent congressional opposition to the 1994 Agreed Framework by shifting $15 million to fund the purchase of 150,000 tons of heavy fuel oil for North Korea.