Satellite images suggest North Korea is rebuilding its missile base
According to the country’s official news agency KCNA, North Korea launched a rocket carrying a spy satellite on Tuesday (21). The text also states that the government will launch more satellites in the near future.
This year, this was the North Korean regime’s third attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit.
North Korea had already informed Japan that it planned to deploy a satellite between Wednesday and December 1st.
Hours before KCNA confirmed that this launch was successful, South Korea and Japan had already said that the North Koreans had attempted to launch a satellite.
Tuesday’s launch would be the first since North Korean leader Kim Jongun met Vladimir Putin in September at Russia’s stateoftheart space facility for a summit in which the Russian president promised to help the North Koreans build satellites.
South Korean officials said that attempt likely involved technical assistance from Moscow as part of a growing partnership that has seen North Korea send millions of artillery shells to Russia. Russia and North Korea have denied such arms deals but have publicly promised closer cooperation.
Location where the launch took place
The South Korean military said the missile was believed to be carrying a reconnaissance satellite and was fired south from the Tongchangri region, home to North Korea’s main Sohae satellite launch facility.
The Japanese government has issued an emergency alert for residents of the South to protect themselves from the possible threat of a North Korean missile.
Through its emergency alert system, the Japanese government urged Okinawa residents to seek shelter indoors or underground. According to public broadcaster NHK, a Japanese Defense Ministry source said the missile was likely to be a satellite.
It later said the missile appeared to have flown over Okinawa toward the Pacific at around 10:55 p.m. local time and canceled the emergency warning.
North Korean state media KCNA reported on Tuesday that it was the country’s “sovereign right” to strengthen its military power against the USled space surveillance system.
In brief comments to reporters upon his arrival at the Cabinet, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated that North Korea’s launch was a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a threat to the safety of Japanese citizens.
“We strongly protest and condemn North Korea in the strongest possible terms,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kishida said his country’s defense systems, including Aegis destroyers and PAC3 antiaircraft missiles, were prepared for any “unexpected situation.”
Japan took no action to destroy the missile, the coast guard said, citing the Defense Ministry.
There were no immediate reports of damage from the launch, said Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, who called North Korea’s frequent missile launches a threat to peace and security.