A first. According to the North Korean news agency, the leader of the totalitarian country has ordered the launch of a first spy satellite dedicated to military reconnaissance. An announcement made when its construction had just been completed. During a visit by the North Korean space agency, Kim Jong-un demanded that “(North Korea’s) first military reconnaissance spy satellite, completed in April, be launched on schedule,” according to the official KCNA news agency.
The inspection carried out by the North Korean leader was made in the company of his daughter. He, however, did not elaborate on the launch date. Speaking to space agency staff, he called for the deployment of “several reconnaissance satellites in different orbits”. Having military reconnaissance technology is “a primary task ahead,” Kim Jong-un said, to counter what he said were threats and aggression from Seoul and Washington. .
The statement comes days after Pyongyang said it had successfully launched its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a major step forward for North Korea’s weapons program.
In December 2022, North Korea said it had conducted an “important final test” in the development of a spy satellite. Assertions immediately called into question by experts who had claimed that the quality of the images, supposed to have been taken from a satellite, was poor. The development of a military reconnaissance spy satellite was already one of the major projects of the North Korean defense program presented by Kim Jong-un in 2021.
