(Seoul) The operations office of North Korea’s first spy satellite will act as a military intelligence organization, state media said Sunday.
“The Satellite Reconnaissance Operations Office […] began carrying out its mission on December 2,” said the official North Korean news agency (KCNA).
The office will operate as an “independent military intelligence organization” and pass acquired information to the Army Reconnaissance Office and other important units, she added.
Pyongyang successfully put a military spy satellite into orbit last month and has since claimed it provided images of key U.S. and South Korean military sites.
However, the regime has yet to release any of the satellite images it claims to possess.
North Korea is barred by successive rounds of UN resolutions from conducting tests using ballistic technology, and analysts say there is significant technological overlap between space launch capabilities and ballistic missile development .
After two unsuccessful attempts in May and August, Pyongyang received help from Moscow to successfully put its “Malligyong-1” satellite into orbit, according to Seoul’s intelligence services.
Experts say putting an operational spy satellite into orbit would optimize North Korea’s quest for intelligence, particularly on its South rival, by gaining access to crucial data ahead of a military conflict.