Spy satellite will enter orbit soon, says North Korea

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said a North Korean military spy satellite would soon enter orbit and pledged to step up military surveillance efforts, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

“What enemies are most afraid of is North Korea’s access to excellent reconnaissance and intelligence assets, including reconnaissance satellites,” Kim, a senior government official, said in a statement released by the news agency. “Therefore, we are aware that we must direct greater efforts to develop means of reconnaissance,” he added.

Her comments came after a satellite launch from Pyongyang on Wednesday ended in failure.

In the statement, Kim also said that widespread criticism of the country’s satellite launch was “self-contradictory”, given that the United States and other countries have already launched “thousands of satellites”.

maturation

North Korea has conducted dozens of ballistic missile tests over the past two years, which analysts said showed the program was maturing.

The test of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in April showed that Pyongyang could launch the missiles more quickly in the event of any nuclear confrontation, analysts said.

The South Korean and Japanese governments condemned the North Korean launch as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

(Posted by Fábio Mendes, with information from Reuters)