All articles tagged with #military spy satellite
North Korea has informed Japan of its plan to launch a military spy satellite between now and June 3, despite U.N. bans on such activities. This follows North Korea's previous satellite launch in November and is part of its efforts to build a space-based surveillance network. South Korea has detected signs of preparations at North Korea's Tongchangri launch facility.
North Korean officials have pledged to launch a military spy satellite again after the first attempt failed last month, calling it their "gravest failure" this year. The ruling Worker's Party of Korea heavily criticised those in charge of the botched operation and ordered workers and researchers to analyse the failed launch. North Korea has been carrying out missile tests since the start of 2022, some of which were related to developing a spy satellite and other powerful weapons on Kim Jong Un's wish list. The US and South Korea condemned the May 31 launch, saying it violated UN resolutions.
North Korea announced plans to launch its first-ever military spy satellite in June to track "dangerous" actions by the US, pointing to its recent joint military drills with South Korea. The satellite will be "indispensable to tracking, monitoring, discriminating, controlling and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal forces openly revealing their reckless ambition for aggression," said a North Korean military official. The announcement led to a rise in defense stocks of South Korean and Japanese companies. Some analysts believe the launch could be an intercontinental ballistic missile test.
South Korea successfully launched a commercial-grade satellite for the first time, which will assist its efforts to develop a space-based surveillance system. Meanwhile, North Korea is pushing to place its first military spy satellite into orbit. The two Koreas, technically in a state of war, have no military reconnaissance satellites of their own and both are eager to possess them. The launch boosted South Korea’s hopes of catching up with Asian neighbors such as China, Japan and India in a regional space race.
Japan's defense chief has ordered troops to activate missile interceptors and prepare to shoot down fragments from a North Korean military spy satellite that may fall on Japanese territory. North Korea has test-fired about 100 missiles since early last year, and last week, it test-launched a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. Japan is making necessary preparations because of the possibility of issuing an order to destroy ballistic missiles and other objects.