The attempt came just hours after Pyongyang issued a warning that it would try to launch a satellite by Jun 4, in what would have been its second spy satellite in orbit.
Seoul has said the North received technical help from Russia for its November satellite launch, in return for sending Moscow weapons for use in the war in Ukraine.
Kim Jong Un met President Vladimir Putin in Russia last September, and Putin suggested afterwards that his nation could help Pyongyang build satellites.
A group of Russian engineers has entered North Korea to help with the launch preparations, Yonhap reported Sunday, citing a government official.