On the ground: A file photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Korea. — AP
SEOUL: North Korea said that it would launch a spy satellite in June, claiming it was necessary to monitor the “dangerous” military movements of the United States and its allies.
Criticising US-South Korea joint military exercises, including the ongoing large-scale live-fire drills, a top North Korean military official confirmed that “military reconnaissance satellite No. 1” would be launched next month.
The announcement came a day after Japan said it was informed by North Korea that a satellite launch could happen imminently, with Tokyo warning it would likely violate United Nations sanctions.
Satellite launch technology overlaps significantly with that used in ballistic missiles, which Pyongyang is explicitly prohibited from using under UN sanctions.
The official Korean Central News Agency cited Ri Pyong-chol, vice-chairman of the ruling party’s central military commission, saying the satellite was “indispensable to tracking, monitoring ... and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal forces”.
Citing “reckless” acts by Washington and Seoul, Ri said North Korea felt “the need to expand reconnaissance and information means and improve various defensive and offensive weapons”.
He also accused the United States of conducting “hostile air espionage activities on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity”, according to the KCNA dispatch.
Pyongyang, which typically does not give advanced warning of missile launches, has been known to inform international bodies of purportedly peaceful satellite launch plans. It told Japan Monday it would launch a rocket between May 31 and June 11.
“Even if it’s described as a satellite, a launch using ballistic missile technology would be a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions” and would threaten people’s safety, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. — AFP
