(Seoul) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected his country’s first military reconnaissance spy satellite and gave the green light to its “future plan of action”, the official KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday. .
The leader met with the non-permanent committee responsible for preparing the satellite’s launch on Tuesday before inspecting it, KCNA reported.
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 having read in detail the work of the committee, [Kim Jong-un] inspected the No. 1 military reconnaissance satellite, ready for loading after undergoing a final general assembly check and space environment check,” 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.
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.
Analysts say it is difficult for Pyongyang to conduct satellite reconnaissance with its own technology and without technological support from Russia or China.
Nevertheless, “since North Korea’s reconnaissance satellites are an important factor in the event of a preemptive strike, they pose a significant threat to the South”, estimated in April Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies. Seoul Koreans.