North Korea threatened on Saturday to shoot down US spy satellites in response to “any attack” on its own satellite, which has been in orbit for 10 days.
Pyongyang said such an operation would be viewed as a “declaration of war,” the official KCNA news agency reported.
This statement comes after a US official said that Washington has various “reversible and irreversible means” to “deprive and counter an adversary of its space capabilities.”
That opponent could be North Korea, which managed to put its first spy satellite into orbit in late October after two unsuccessful tests in May and August.
“If the United States attempts to violate the legitimate territory of a sovereign state,” then Pyongyang “will consider taking self-defense measures to weaken or destroy the viability of American spy satellites,” a Foreign Affairs spokesman warned.
Any military operation against Pyongyang’s satellites that is deemed “imminent” will prompt the regime to “use its military deterrent.”
The withdrawn country has nuclear weapons.
North Korea claims to have been monitoring key American and South Korean military sites and even Rome since the successful launch of its first satellite.
However, no images captured by “Malligyong-1” were shared.
Seoul says Russia helped North Korea successfully launch its spy satellite.