North Korea will launch a number of reconnaissance satellites in the coming years to provide real-time information on military actions by the US and its allies, state media on Thursday reported leader Kim Jong Un as saying.
Kim said “a lot” of military reconnaissance satellites would be put into sun-synchronous polar orbit in a five-year plan announced last year, state news agency KCNA reported.
He made the announcement during an inspection of North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration.
“The purpose of developing and operating the military reconnaissance satellite is to provide the armed forces with real-time [insight] on military actions against it by the aggression troops of the US imperialism and its vassal forces in South Korea, Japan and the Pacific,” the news agency said.
North Korea appears to be preparing to launch a reconnaissance satellite, which could prove as controversial as the nuclear-armed country’s weapons tests because they use the same banned ballistic missile technology, experts say.
North Korea says it conducted two tests of satellite systems on February 27 and March 5. Authorities in South Korea, Japan, and the United States say the tests involved launches of ballistic missiles.
- Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara
ALSO READ:
North Korean Hackers Steal $400m in Crypto Attacks
North Korea Claims Successful Test of Hypersonic Missile
Private Sector Becomes Largest Chunk of North Korean Economy
