{"id":85790,"date":"2023-05-30T18:44:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T18:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/05\/30\/images-show-north-koreas-launch-pad-as-it-prepares-its-spy-satellite\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:30:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:30:52","slug":"images-show-north-koreas-launch-pad-as-it-prepares-its-spy-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/05\/30\/images-show-north-koreas-launch-pad-as-it-prepares-its-spy-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"Images show North Korea\u2019s launch pad as it prepares its spy satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 North Korea said Tuesday it would launch its first military spy satellite in June and described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for monitoring U.S. \u201creckless\u201d military exercises with South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement came a day after North Korea notified Japan\u2019s coast guard<\/a> that the launch, sometime between May 31 and June 11, might affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines\u2019 Luzon Island. Japan\u2019s defense minister warned its forces to shoot down the satellite or debris if any entered Japanese territory, and its coast guard issued a safety warning for ships that would be in the affected seas during the expected launch, citing a risk of falling debris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While North Korea\u2019s rivals have condemned the country\u2019s planned launch as a banned test of ballistic missile technology, it\u2019s less clear whether the satellite itself is advanced enough to support the North\u2019s stated goals of tracking and monitoring U.S. and South Korean military activities in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satellite images taken Tuesday analyzed by The Associated Press showed activity at a main pad at North Korea\u2019s Sohae Satellite Launching Station \u2014 suggesting the satellite\u2019s blast off would be soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
This satellite picture by Planet Labs PBC shows activity at a newly built launch pad at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station near Tongchang-ri, North Korea, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The images by Planet Labs PBC showed the massive orange gantry at the pad with its arms open. The gantry houses a rocket on the launch pad. Next to the gantry, a long, rectangular object could be seen with two other objects nearby. Those objects hadn\u2019t been seen in prior days\u2019 images of the site \u2014 and could potentially be rocket parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that movement taken together, along with the announcement of a pending launch, means one is likely imminent, said Dave Schmerler, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, which is part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schmerler said it was highly unusual for North Korea to be assembling the rocket in daylight, knowing that satellites overhead would be able to watch the site, as opposed to constructing it under a rail-mounted transfer structure as they have in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe point is that we\u2019re seeing activity in a launch system that was designed to obscure activity,\u201d Schmerler told the AP. \u201cSo this is new and interesting because it\u2019s not using the usual processes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, North Korean workers also have quickly built in the span of a month a new launch pad just 2.7 kilometers (1.6 miles) southeast of the launch pad where all the activity Tuesday was seen. That site as well appears to have a rail-mounted transfer system, freshly paved asphalt, lightning towers, floodlights and a stand for cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
This satellite picture by Planet Labs PBC shows the Sohae Satellite Launching Station near Tongchang-ri, North Korea, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Given that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un likely would attend the satellite launch, Schmerler said the missile site probably wanted to show off its new facilities. That also would allow them to have a second launch as well if North Korea chose to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen Kim shows up, he\u2019s not going to be underwhelmed. He should be fairly impressed they just threw this whole thing together,\u201d Schmerler said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to use this. Now, when they use it, we don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Maritime Organization told the AP it received an email from North Korea\u2019s Maritime Administration that spelled out the country\u2019s satellite launch plans, including the May 31-June 11 launch window and coordinates of areas where debris might fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pace of both North Korea\u2019s weapons testing and U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises have increased in past months in a tit-for-tat cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-fired about 100 missiles, including ICBMs designed to reach the U.S. mainland and a slew of launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks on targets in South Korea. North Korea has said its intensified testing activity is meant to counter its rivals\u2019 joint military exercises as it continues to use those drills as a pretext to advance its arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comments published by North Korean state media, senior military official Ri Pyong Chol criticized the combined U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which the North has long described as invasion rehearsals. He said North Korea considers space-based reconnaissance \u201cindispensable\u201d to monitor the military exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\t