North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued a secret order for local authorities to prevent suicides after data showed an increase in people taking their own lives this year, government officials told Radio Free Asia.

Though RFA was not able to confirm North Korea’s tally, the South Korean National Intelligence Service reported at the end of May that suicides were up about 40% compared to last year.

The South Korean government will overhaul the country's emergency alert system, news agency Yonahp reported on Thursday, after an erroneous message tied to North Korea's satellite launch this week led to confusion and complaints.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination, the interior ministry and the Seoul metropolitan government will discuss improvements, the report said, citing a senior government official.

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, leader Kim Jong Un's sister, said her country would soon put a military spy satellite into orbit and promised Pyongyang would increase its military surveillance capabilities, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

The remarks by Kim, a powerful ruling party official, came a day after a failed attempt at launching the country's first spy satellite, which plunged into sea.

North Korea’s attempt to launch its first spy satellite ended in failure, with the satellite and launch vehicle crashing into the Yellow Sea on the Korean Peninsula’s western coast.

The launch from the North triggered alarms in South Korea and Japan, with alerts being sent out to the public urging them to seek immediate shelter. However, both countries cancelled the alarms when it was revealed that it was a satellite launch that posed no immediate threat.

North Korea announced its plans to launch its first-ever military spy satellite – giving a lift for some South Korean and Japanese defense stocks.

North Korean military official Ri Pyong Chol said in a Monday statement that Pyongyang plans to launch a satellite with the aim to track “dangerous” actions by the U.S., pointing to its recent joint military drills taking with South Korea.

North Korea has informed Japan of its plan to launch a satellite in the coming days, which could be an attempt to put its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit.

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada has ordered Japan's Self-Defense Force to shoot down the satellite or debris if any enters Japanese territory. The launch window is from May 31 to June 11, and the launch may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and east of the Philippines' Luzon Island.