{"id":32422,"date":"2023-04-19T11:02:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T11:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/04\/19\/kim-says-north-koreas-1st-spy-satellite-ready-for-launch\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:44:17","slug":"kim-says-north-koreas-1st-spy-satellite-ready-for-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/intel-geoint\/isr\/2023\/04\/19\/kim-says-north-koreas-1st-spy-satellite-ready-for-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim says North Korea\u2019s 1st spy satellite ready for launch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past test launches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his visit to the country\u2019s aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim said that having an operational military reconnaissance satellite is crucial for North Korea to effectively use its nuclear-capable missiles. Kim cited what he described as serious security threats posed by \u201cthe most hostile rhetoric and explicit action\u201d by the United States and South Korea this year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He likely hopes to pressure his rivals on issues including joint military drills and international economic sanctions on North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea’s missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (AP Photo\/Ahn Young-joon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kim said \u201cthe military reconnaissance satellite No. 1\u2033 had already been built and ordered officials to speed up preparations for its launch. He said North Korea must launch several satellites to establish an intelligence-gathering capability, KCNA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Korea has said its ongoing run of weapons tests, including its first test-launch of a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile<\/a> designed to strike the U.S. mainland last week, are a response to joint military exercises between the United States and its regional allies South Korea and Japan. North Korea has carried out about 100 missile tests since the start of last year, including about 30 this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been expanding combined drills in response to North Korea\u2019s growing nuclear threats. This week, the allies launched a 12-day aerial exercise involving some 110 warplanes and staged a one-day naval missile defense exercise with Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spy satellites are among an array of major weapons systems that Kim publicly vowed to develop during a major ruling Workers\u2019 Party conference in January 2021. Kim also pledged to build solid-propellant ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since conducted tests of such weapons, but observers say those high-tech weapons are still in development stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After North Korea launched a test satellite<\/a> last December, it publicized black-and-white photos showing a space view of South Korean cities. Some civilian experts in South Korea said at the time the photos were too crude for a surveillance purpose and that they were likely capable of only recognizing big targets like warships at sea or military installations on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim\u2019s sister and senior North Korean official Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Jong Un said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to \u201cuse pre-emptive military force when the situation demands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday\u2019s KCNA dispatch focused on U.S. military assets like aircraft carriers and long-range bombers that have been deployed in South Korea in recent months, but made no mention of possible targets in the mainland U.S. That could imply that North Korea intends to use its reconnaissance satellites to identify key targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases, in order to attack them with short-range missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putting a reconnaissance satellite into orbit would require a long-range rocket. The U.N. bans such launches by North Korea because it views them as cover for testing its long-range ballistic missile technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\t