The day after the launch of what South Korea considered to be a medium-range ballistic missile, the North Korea proceeded to a test of “great importance” for the development of a reconnaissance satellite, state media broadcast today. Despite draconian international sanctions, the Pyongyang went on to record a series of weapons tests in Januarybefore suspending launches for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
On Sunday, the South Korean General Staff announced that it had spotted a ballistic missile launch from North Korea. Yonhap reported that the rocket was probably hit by a self-propelled launcher, after it was lifted on a steep slope, which, according to the South Korean news agency, implied that it was a medium-range ballistic missile.
However, North Korea’s official news agency, the KCNA, said government agencies had conducted a test on Sunday “of great importance for the development of satellite reconnaissance”.
According to KCNA and as broadcast by the Athens News Agency, the satellite test allowed to “confirm the characteristics and accuracy of the operation of the high-definition photography system, the data transmission system and the means of altitude control”.
Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers’ Party, published two photos depicting the Korean peninsula from space.
The development of a military reconnaissance satellite, as well as recently tested supersonic weapons, was among the major defense plans announced by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Unlast year.
Analysts say the development of satellite reconnaissance provides North Korea with test coverage for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), as the missiles used to launch satellites share virtually the same technology.
“North Korea has long been suspected of using such launches” as a cover for tests “by ICBMs, analyst Joshua Pollack said via Twitter. The space tests “may offer Kim Jong Un a legitimate way to circumvent his promise in April 2018 to ‘suspend’ intercontinental ballistic missile tests,” added Pollack, a researcher at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies.
Source: News Beast
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