North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the nation’s launch of its first-ever spy satellite to proceed as planned. The launch comes amidst regional tensions as Pyongyang seeks to counter the United States and South Korea.
North Korean state media KCNA reported Wednesday that Kim ordered the preparations for the launch of the first spy satellite to go as planned. In a visit to the isolated nation’s space agency on Tuesday, Kim told officials to ensure the launch would be on schedule and called for more surveillance satellites. KCNA said that the satellite production had been completed but did not reveal when the launch is scheduled to take place.
Kim said it was “natural” for North Korea to develop its military deterrence while criticizing the US deployment of strategic assets in the region. Kim called it an attempt “to turn South Korea into an advanced base for aggression and an arsenal for war.”
Analysts have said the military satellite is part of North Korea’s efforts to advance its surveillance technology, including drones, to improve its ability to strike targets in case of conflict. Pyongyang has also been threatening to take “more practical and offensive” action over the joint South Korea-US military drills and refusing to answer inter-Korean hotlines.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that even if Pyongyang referred to it as a satellite, any launch by the isolated nation that involves ballistic missile technology would be a breach of United Nations sanctions.
The US and South Korea have maintained that their joint drills are defensive despite North Korea’s protests. On Monday, the US, South Korea, and Japan held joint naval missile defense exercises to improve their responses to Pyongyang’s threats. The drills followed the talks in Washington Friday last week, agreeing to hold regular missile and anti-submarine exercises to boost diplomatic and military cooperation.
Hours following the joint exercises, the vice president of North Korea’s ruling party’s Central Military Commission, Ri Pyong-Chol, issued a statement criticizing the US for calling a UN Security Council meeting over its latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
Ri argued that North Korea’s weapons development was a self-defensive measure against the US while accusing Washington of escalating regional tensions “to the brink of explosion” with the joint military drills simulating an open military conflict against North Korea.