From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 2 hours ago, updated 1 hour ago
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South Korea on Wednesday, November 22, partially suspended a military deal with North Korea, announcing that it had put a spy satellite into orbit in violation of UN resolutions.
A rocket launched on Tuesday evening followed the planned trajectory “and managed to place the Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit,” North Korea’s official KCNA agency said on Wednesday.
Orbit not yet confirmed
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – North Korea’s official name – plans to launch more satellites “in a short period of time” to strengthen its surveillance capabilities over South Korea, KCNA added. “The launch of a reconnaissance satellite is a legitimate right of the DPRK to strengthen its self-defense capabilities,” the agency stressed, as the country faces threats from South Korea and the United States.
For its part, the General Staff of the South Korean Army clarified that it was analyzing this launch and could not yet confirm that the satellite had actually been put into orbit. Japan also said it could not confirm “at this time” whether it would go into orbit.
Japan’s Defense Ministry is “analyzing” the North Korean launch, Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said on Wednesday, adding that Pyongyang’s rapid development of “its missile technologies and operational capabilities” should neither be “tolerated” nor “neglected.” North Korea had already made two unsuccessful attempts to put a satellite into orbit last May and August.
Agreement partially suspended
South Korea responded by announcing the partial suspension of a military agreement signed with North Korea on September 19, 2018 to reduce tensions along the highly secure inter-Korean border, particularly through the creation of maritime “buffer zones.” A South Korean government spokesman told AFP that Seoul was unable to directly inform Pyongyang of the suspension of that agreement because “communication lines with North Korea were interrupted.” The satellite launch was also condemned by the United States, Japan and the United Nations.
“Any North Korean launch that uses ballistic missile technology violates United Nations Security Council resolutions,” UN chief Antonio Guterres’ deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a press release. “Even if they call it a satellite, launching an object that uses ballistic missile technology is clearly a violation of United Nations resolutions,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
This shooting is “a blatant violation of several United Nations Security Council resolutions, increases tensions and risks destabilizing the region and beyond,” said the spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
Crucial data
The launch comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in September after a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his country could help Pyongyang build satellites. Seoul and Washington later claimed that Pyongyang was supplying weapons to Russia, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warning that military ties between North Korea and Russia were becoming “increasingly numerous and dangerous”.
Experts say the successful orbit of a spy satellite would improve North Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly about South Korea, and provide crucial data in the event of a military conflict. South Korea, in turn, plans to launch its first spy satellite with a SpaceX rocket in November.