SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea announced on Tuesday that it would launch its first military spy satellite in June, calling space-based reconnaissance vital to monitoring “reckless” U.S. military exercises with South Korea.
The statement came a day after North Korea informed the Japan Coast Guard that the launch could impact waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippine island of Luzon sometime between May 31 and June 11. Japan’s defense minister warned its forces to shoot down the satellite or debris if it reached Japanese territory, and its coast guard issued a safety alert for ships in the affected seas during the expected launch, citing the danger of falling debris .
While North Korea’s rivals have condemned the country’s planned launch as a banned test of ballistic missile technology, it’s less clear whether the satellite itself is advanced enough to support the North’s stated goals of tracking US and South Korean military activities in real time and to monitor.
The pace of both North Korea’s weapons tests and joint US-South Korea military exercises has increased in a cycle of clashes in recent months.
In comments published by North Korean state media, senior military official Ri Pyong Chol criticized joint US-South Korea military exercises, which Pyongyang has long described as invasion rehearsals. He said North Korea considers space-based reconnaissance “essential” to monitor military exercises.
Last week, the South Korean and US militaries conducted large-scale fire drills near the border with North Korea — the first of five rounds of drills to mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance. Washington and Seoul describe their regular military drills as defensive, and have expanded their training since 2022 to meet the North’s evolving threats.
Ri said the increasing drills and other military activities between the US and South Korea underscore their “sinister intent” to prepare for pre-emptive military action against North Korea. He said the “dangerous military actions by the US” and its forces have created a worrying security environment, requiring Pyongyang to gather reliable, real-time intelligence on military movements in the region.
South Korea has warned North Korea faces consequences if it launches the satellite in violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning the North from launching any ballistic technology. Satellite launch vehicles share core technologies with long-range missiles designed to carry warheads to destroy intercontinental targets.
“It is absurd to use our legitimate joint exercises and maintenance of joint South Korean-US defense postures in response to North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threat as an excuse to launch a reconnaissance satellite,” South Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk said during a meeting.
“We urge North Korea to cancel its launch plans immediately.”
The International Maritime Organization told The Associated Press that it received an email from North Korea’s maritime administration outlining the country’s satellite launch plans, including the launch window from May 31 to June 11 and coordinates of areas into which possible debris could fall.
The same information has already been circulated through the World Navigational Alert System after the North communicated with the Japan Coast Guard, which coordinates and distributes maritime safety information in the region.
Last week, South Korea launched its first commercial satellite, which experts say could provide Seoul with key technology and expertise to launch its first military spy satellite later this year and build more powerful missiles.
Han Sung Geun, spokesman for the South Korean General Staff, said during a briefing that the South Korean and US military are closely watching North Korea for the possible satellite launch and other provocative military moves. He gave no specific assessments of the North Korean satellite’s potential capabilities and declined to say whether the South Korean military was preparing for the possibility of debris falling into nearby waters.
Spy satellites are among a series of high-tech weapons systems that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has publicly promised to develop. Other weapon systems on his wish-list include solid-propellant ICBMs, nuclear submarines, hypersonic missiles and multi-warhead missiles.
North Korea launched Earth observation satellites in 2012 and 2016, but their capabilities have been questioned.
Foreign experts say the previous satellites have never sent images back to North Korea, and analysts say the new device, which has been featured in state media for the past few weeks, is too small and crudely designed to handle high-resolution images and too transfer.
Since early 2022, North Korea has test-launched about 100 missiles, including ICBMs aimed at reaching the US mainland, as well as a series of launches it described as simulated nuclear strikes on targets in South Korea. North Korea has said its increased testing activities are aimed at countering joint military exercises by its rivals, which the country continues to use as an excuse to expand its arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons.
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