2023-05-16 23:52:03
Kim Jong Un inspects North Korea’s first spy satellite
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected his country’s first military reconnaissance spy satellite and given the green light to its “future plan of action”.
Kim Jong Un on April 17, 2023.
AFP
The leader met on Tuesday with the non-permanent committee responsible for preparing the launch of the satellite before inspecting it, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported on Wednesday.
In mid-April, Kim Jong Un said that its construction was complete and ordered its launch. The announcement came a week after Pyongyang assured it had successfully launched its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a major step forward for North Korea’s weapons program.
According to analysts, there is a significant technological concomitance between ICBM development and space launch capabilities.
On Tuesday, “After being familiar with the committee’s work in detail, (Kim Jong Un) inspected the No. 1 military reconnaissance satellite, ready for loading after undergoing a final general assembly check and control of the space environment,” KCNA said.
The leader accused the United States and South Korea of stepping up what he called “confrontational maneuvers” against the North and said his country would exercise its right to self-defense. He then “approved the future action plan of the preparatory committee,” KCNA added.
Nuclear power was ‘irreversible’
The development of a military reconnaissance satellite was one of the main defense projects presented by Kim Jong Un in 2021. Last December, Pyongyang said it had carried out an “important final test” for the development of a spy satellite. This news was immediately questioned by experts who claimed that the quality of the images, supposed to have been taken from a satellite, was poor.
Pyongyang did not give a launch date, but in April the leader demanded “it be launched on schedule.”
Last year, North Korea declared that its status as a nuclear power was “irreversible”, definitively closing the door to any negotiations on its disarmament.
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