Pyongyang, 19 April 2023 (GNP): North Korean State Media KCNA reported on Wednesday that Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader, claimed that his country has successfully created its first military spy satellite, also known as a reconnaissance satellite, and has instructed authorities to get ready for its launch.
On Tuesday, when Kim made a visit to the National Aerospace Development Administration, he stated that establishing reconnaissance capabilities were crucial to fending off “threats” from the US and South Korea and that several satellites were required to consolidate an intelligence-gathering capacity.
Owning military spy satellites is “indispensable,” claimed Kim, who referred to them as a “right to national sovereignty and self-defense.” He also pointed toward the Korean Peninsula’s unrest and the necessity to manage “prospective threats”, KCNA reported.
The “most important” responsibility, he continued, is “Securing real-time information about the hostile forces’ military scenario”.
North Korea has proved its ability to carry satellites into orbit through previous missile and rocket tests, but many analysts are skeptical about whether it has cameras advanced enough to serve as a spy satellite given that only low-resolution images were released.
In December last year, North Korea asserted that it had carried out an “important final stage test” towards the creation of a spy satellite. According to the nation’s space development agency, the first military spy satellite would be ready by April 2023.
According to Dave Schmerler, senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in the United States, recent satellite photographs of North Korea’s space launch facility do not support the assertions made by the country.
“But North Korea could launch this via a road mobile vehicle. So we’re all just waiting to see what they do”, he added.
Moreover, It would take a long-range rocket to launch a spy satellite into orbit. But the UN has outlawed these launches because it considers them as a disguise for testing long-range ballistic missile technology.
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Some foreign observers also believe that North Korea has not succeeded in overcoming the final technological obstacles to developing operational nuclear missiles, including those to construct small-scale warheads for atop rockets and safeguard nuclear weapons during atmospheric re-entry.
One of the goals for its spy satellite, claimed the North Korean leader, is to be capable of “using pre-emptive military force when the situation demands.” That reveals his intention of connecting the spy satellite to the North’s nuclear doctrine which allows for pre-emptive nuclear strikes.
Additionally, Kim Jong Un insisted that the US was attempting to “turn South Korea into an advanced base for aggression and an arsenal for war” by stationing military equipment like aircraft carriers and nuclear-capable bombers in the region.
The forces of the US and South Korea have been increasing their joint exercises to strengthen their deterrent against North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats. They started a 12-day aerial drill this week that would involve around 110 warplanes, and also held a one-day naval missile defense exercise with Japan.
Observers argue that though North Korea complains about the US-South Korean military exercises, it also makes use of them as an excuse to boost its military capabilities and elevate pressure on the US administration to make concessions.
In 2012 and 2016, Pyongyang launched its first and second Earth observation satellites, which drew UN sanctions. However, according to outside analysts, neither satellite returned any images to North Korea.
North Korea has also escaped further U.N. sanctions for its recent ballistic missile launches in 2022 and this year because of Russia and China, the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, declined to support efforts by the US and others to impose severer restrictions on it.