North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the launch of North Korea’s first military reconnaissance spy satellite, construction of which has just been completed, the state news agency said on Wednesday.
During a visit by North Korea’s space agency, Kim Jong Un called for “[North Korea’s]first military reconnaissance spy satellite, which was completed in April, to be launched on schedule,” official KCNA news agency report.
The boss, who inspected the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) with his daughter, gave more details about the start date. In conversation with employees of the space agency, he called for the use of “several reconnaissance satellites in different orbits”.
Acquiring military reconnaissance technology is “a primary task to be accomplished,” Kim Jong Un said, in order to counter the threats and aggression from Seoul and Washington.
The statement comes days after Pyongyang announced it had successfully launched its new solid-fuel ICBM, a major step forward for North Korea’s weapons program.
In December 2022, North Korea said it had conducted an “important final test” in the development of a spy satellite. Immediately challenged claims by experts who had claimed the quality of images allegedly taken by a satellite was poor.
The development of a military reconnaissance spy satellite was already one of the major projects of the North Korean defense program presented by Kim Jong Un in 2021.
“It appears that North Korea will launch its satellite, which will remain ‘symbolic’ for now, and gradually improve it,” defector An Chan-il, director of the World Institute of Science, told AFP.
“If China and Russia don’t provide technological support, it will be difficult for North Korea to conduct espionage activities with its own equipment,” he said.
But for Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, the North Korean leader’s announcement must be taken seriously.
“Since North Korea’s reconnaissance satellites can play a key role in the event of a pre-emptive nuclear strike, they pose a significant threat to South Korea,” he said.
North Korea recently stepped up ballistic missile testing and last year declared that its nuclear status was “irreversible,” closing the door on any disarmament talks once and for all.
Washington and Seoul have increased military cooperation and multiplied large-scale joint maneuvers in the region, provoking the ire of Pyongyang, which sees the exercises as a dress rehearsal for an invasion of its territory.