SEOUL, South Korea(Washington Insider Magazine) – On Monday, North Korea’s state-run news agency KCNA said that a test executed early Sunday was for the construction of a surveillance satellite system, one day following a missile fire detected from the nation.
The KCNA report did not specify what sort of rocket was used in the launch, but officials in Japan and South Korea said it seemed to be a ballistic missile launched from a location near Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, where the country’s international airport is situated.
The launch was North Korea’s eighth this year and the 1st since January when the country launched a high number of missiles.
While world focus remains on the Ukraine issue, authorities in Japan and South Korea are concerned that North Korea may proceed with missile development that is prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions.
According to KCNA, the test on Sunday served to validate the functioning correctness of a high-definition imaging system, data communication system, and altitude control equipment by photographing a specified area on Earth vertically and obliquely using cameras to be mounted on the reconnaissance satellite.
Two images of the Korean Peninsula as viewed from space were released by state media.
Similar photographs were revealed following the most recent missile test, which contained a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile with a camera mounted in its nose cone, which took place on Jan. 30.
Last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asked for a variety of breakthroughs, including the development of military surveillance satellites, as well as the testing of hypersonic missiles.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, North Korea is pushing to develop similar technology at the same time as South Korea is planning to test a solid-fuel space missile in March as part of a scheme to install its very own military reconnaissance satellites to surveil the North.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the North Korean missile launched on Sunday had a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles) and the highest altitude of approximately 620 kilometers (390 miles).
The test prompted worldwide condemnation, and officials say the US, France, the United Kingdom, and 3 other U.N. Security Council members will discuss it during a closed-door session on Monday.
According to NBC NEWS, previous deployments of what North Korea claims are space missiles have been denounced by the US and its partners as thinly veiled testing of the ballistic missile program.
North Korea has successfully launched at least 2 satellites into orbit, the most recent of which was in 2016. However, neither of these is thought to be effective.
