South Korea boosts military surveillance after North claims spy satellite launch

A man watches a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea launching a military satellite, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea moved to suspend on Wednesday part of a military agreement it signed with Pyongyang in 2018 after the isolated North defied warnings from the United States and its allies and launched a spy satellite, calling it a success.

North Korea said it placed its first spy satellite in orbit on Tuesday and vowed to launch more in the near future. Photographs published by North Korean state media showed what appeared to be leader Kim Jong Un watching the fiery launch of a rocket from a base.