{"id":32545,"date":"2023-05-17T13:57:55","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T13:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/05\/17\/north-korea-shows-kim-jong-un-examining-a-military-spy-satellite\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:34:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:34:39","slug":"north-korea-shows-kim-jong-un-examining-a-military-spy-satellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2023\/05\/17\/north-korea-shows-kim-jong-un-examining-a-military-spy-satellite\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea shows Kim Jong Un examining a military spy satellite"},"content":{"rendered":"
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North Korean state media circulated images of leader Kim Jong Un’s inspection of what it said was a spy satellite due to launch soon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 North Korea\u2019a leader examined a finished military spy satellite<\/a>, which his country is expected to launch soon, during a visit to an aerospace facility where he described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for countering the U.S. and South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Jong Un during Tuesday\u2019s visit approved an unspecified \u201cfuture action plan\u201d in preparations for launching the satellite, North Korea\u2019s official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday. North Korea hasn\u2019t disclosed a target date for the launch, which some analysts say may be in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That launch would use long-range missile technology banned by past U.N. Security Council resolutions, although previous missile and rockets tests have demonstrated North Korea\u2019s ability to deliver a satellite into space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are more questions, however, about the satellite\u2019s capability. Some South Korean analysts say the satellite shown in North Korean state media photos appears too small and crudely designed to support high-resolution imagery. Photos that North Korean media released from past missile launches were low resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos released by the Rodong Sinmun newspaper of Tuesday\u2019s visit showed Kim and his daughter \u2014 dressed in white lab coats \u2014 talking with scientists near an object that looked like the main component of a satellite. The newspaper did not identify the object, which was surrounded by a perimeter of red tape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KCNA said the satellite was deemed ready to be loaded onto a rocket after scientists examined the device\u2019s assembly and put it through tests<\/a> to confirm whether it would withstand the environment of space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea\u2019s Foreign Affairs Ministry said North Korea has yet to inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of any launch plans. It said a North Korean satellite launch would violate various U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the North from any launches involving ballistic technologies and \u201cthreaten regional peace and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe announcing of the satellite launch plan shows yet again that the North Korean regime is preoccupied with continuing its illegal provocations while ignoring the plight of its people,\u201d the ministry said in a statement, in referring to North Korea\u2019s broken economy and deepening international isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit was Kim\u2019s first public appearance in about a month, following a previous visit to the aerospace center on April 18 as state media announced that the satellite had been built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim said acquiring a spy satellite would be crucial for his efforts to bolster the country\u2019s defense as \u201cU.S. imperialists and [South] Korean puppet villains escalate their confrontational moves\u201d against the North, KCNA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was apparently referring to the expansion of joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, and the allies\u2019 discussions on strengthening their nuclear deterrence strategies to cope with threats from North Korea, which has test-fired about 100 missiles since the start of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step in North Korea\u2019s launch preparations, or the \u201cfuture action plan\u201d state media mentioned, could be installing the satellite on what would likely be a three-stage space rocket, said Kim Dong-yub, a professor at Seoul\u2019s University of North Korean Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on how North Korean preparations go, the launch could be conducted as early as mid-June, although Pyongyang might also time the event to major state anniversaries that fall in July, September or October, the professor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent commercial satellite images indicate rapid construction activities at North Korea\u2019s northwest rocket launch facility, where the country last conducted a satellite launch in 2016, the North Korea-focused 38 North website said Monday. The activities include construction on the facility\u2019s main satellite launch pad and possible efforts to establish a new launch pad at the edge of the site near the sea, 38 North said in its report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spy satellites are among a slew of advanced weapons systems Kim Jong Un has vowed to develop. Others on his wish list include solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submariners, hypersonic missiles and multiwarhead missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\t