North Korean leader Kim Jong-un examined a finished military spy satellite, which his country is expected to launch soon, during a visit to an aerospace facility where he described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for countering the US and South Korea.
Kim during Tuesday’s visit approved an unspecified “future action plan” in preparation for launching the satellite, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said yesterday.
North Korea has not disclosed a target date for the launch, which some analysts say might be in the next few weeks.
Photo: AFP / KCNA via KNS
That launch would use long-range missile technology banned by past UN Security Council resolutions, although previous missile and rockets tests have demonstrated North Korea’s ability to deliver a satellite into space.
However, there are more questions about the satellite’s capabilities.
Some South Korean analysts say the satellite shown in North Korean state media photographs appears too small and crudely designed to support high-resolution imagery.
Photos that North Korean media released from past missile launches were low-resolution.
Photos released by the Rodong Sinmun newspaper of Tuesday’s visit showed Kim and his daughter — dressed in white lab coats — talking with scientists near an object that looked like the main component of a satellite.
The newspaper did not identify the object, which was surrounded by a perimeter of red tape.
KCNA said the satellite was deemed ready to be loaded onto a rocket after scientists examined the device’s assembly and put it through tests to confirm whether it would withstand being in space.
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that North Korea has yet to inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of any launch plans.
A North Korean satellite launch would contravene UN Security Council resolutions banning the North from any launches involving ballistic technologies, and “threaten regional peace and stability,” the ministry said in a statement.
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