From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, updated 1 hour ago
A rocket carrying a Malligyong-1 spy satellite is fired from North Korea’s North Gyeongsang province, the North Korean government claims, in this photo obtained by Portal on November 21, 2023. KCNA/Portal
Pyongyang said it would respond to “any attack” by the United States against its own recently-orbiting satellite and considered such an operation a “declaration of war.”
North Korea threatened on Saturday, December 2, to shoot down US spy satellites in response to “any attack” on its own satellite, which has been in orbit for around ten 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.
“Self-defense measures”
“If the United States attempts to violate the legitimate territory of a sovereign state,” then Pyongyang “will consider self-defense measures to weaken or destroy the functionality of U.S. spy satellites,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry 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 The withdrawn country has nuclear weapons.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.