North Korea said on Tuesday it will launch its first military spy satellite in June, describing the space reconnaissance as crucial to monitoring “reckless” US military exercises with South Korea.
The statement came a day after North Korea notified the Japanese Coast Guard That launch, sometime between May 31 and June 11, could affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and east of Luzon Island, Philippines. The Japanese Minister of Defense warned its forces not to shoot down the satellite or debris if it entered Japanese territory, and the Coast Guard issued a safety warning to ships that will be in affected seas during the expected launch, pointing to the danger of falling debris.
While North Korea’s opponents have condemned the planned launch as a prohibited test of ballistic missile technology, it is unclear whether the satellite itself is advanced enough to support North Korea’s stated goals of tracking and monitoring US and South Korean military activities in real time.
Satellite images taken on Tuesday and analyzed by The Associated Press showed activity at a major pad at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launch Station — indicating that a satellite explosion would be close.
Pictures taken by Planet Labs PBC showed the huge orange giant in the pillow with its arms outstretched. The bridge contains a missile on the launch pad. Next to the archway, a long, rectangular object could be seen with two other objects nearby. These objects were not seen in previous days’ photos of the site – they are likely to be missile fragments.
All of this movement combined, along with the announcement of a pending launch, means that one is likely imminent, said Dave Schmirler, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, part of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey. . .
Schmerler said it was unusual for North Korea to assemble the missile in broad daylight, knowing that satellites in the air would be able to view the site, rather than building it under a rail-mounted transport structure as was the case in the past.
“The point is, we’re seeing activity in the launch system that was designed to mask activity,” Schmerler told the AP. “This is new and interesting because it doesn’t use the usual processes.”
Meanwhile, North Korean workers quickly built within a month a new launch pad 2.7 kilometers (1.6 miles) southeast of the launch pad where all activity was seen on Tuesday. This site also appears to have a transit system installed on the rails, freshly paved asphalt, lightning towers, floodlights, and a camera mount.
Given that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will likely attend the satellite launch, Schmirler said the rocket site may have wanted to show off its new facilities. This would also allow them to launch a second launch as well if North Korea chooses to do so.
“When Kim shows up, he’s not going to get disheartened. He must be somewhat impressed, because they threw all this together,” Schmirler said. “They’re going to use this. Now, when they use it, we don’t know. “
The IMO told the AP that it had received an email from North Korea’s Maritime Administration detailing the country’s satellite launch plans, including a May 31-June 11 satellite launch window and coordinates of areas where debris might land.
The pace of North Korean weapons testing and joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea has increased in the past months in a reciprocal cycle.
Since the beginning of 2022, North Korea has test-fired about 100 missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to reach the US mainland and a series of launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks on targets in South Korea. North Korea has said its intense test activity is aimed at countering its adversaries’ joint military exercises while continuing to use them as a pretext to bolster its arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons.
In comments released by North Korean state media, senior military official Ri Byong-chol criticized the joint US-South Korean military exercises, which North Korea has long described as rehearsals for invasion. He said North Korea considered reconnaissance from space “indispensable” for monitoring military exercises.
Last week, the South Korean and US militaries conducted large-scale live-fire exercises near the border with North Korea – the first of five rounds of exercises marking the 70th anniversary of their alliance. Washington and Seoul describe their regular military exercises as defensive and have expanded their training since 2022 to deal with North Korea’s evolving threats.
Ri said the expansion of the US-South Korea exercises and other military activities underscores its “evil intention” to prepare for preemptive military action against North Korea. He said the “dangerous military actions by the United States” and its forces have created a worrying security environment that makes it necessary for North Korea to collect reliable, real-time information on military movements in the region.
South Korea has warned that North Korea will face consequences if it goes ahead with the satellite launch in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which prohibit North Korea from conducting any launch using ballistic technology. Satellite launch vehicles share basic technologies with long-range missiles designed to launch warheads intended to destroy intercontinental targets.
“It is absurd to use our legitimate joint exercises, maintaining a joint defense posture between South Korea and the United States to respond to North Korean nuclear and missile threats, as an excuse to launch a reconnaissance satellite,” South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk said during a briefing.
“We strongly urge North Korea to immediately cancel its launch plans.”
Last week, South Korea launched its first commercial-grade satellitewhich experts say could provide Seoul with the key technology and expertise to put its first military spy satellite into orbit later this year and build more powerful missiles.
Han Sung-gyun, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, said during a briefing that the South Korean and US militaries are watching North Korea closely over a possible satellite launch and other provocative military moves. He did not provide specific assessments about the potential capabilities of the North Korean satellite and declined to say whether the South Korean military was preparing for the possibility of debris falling into nearby waters.
The spy satellites are among an array of high-tech weapon systems that Kim Jong-un has publicly pledged to develop. Other weapons systems on his wish list include solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles, and multiple warhead missiles.
North Korea put Earth-observing satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, though their capabilities were questioned.
Previous satellites never transmitted images to North Korea, foreign experts say, and analysts say the new device shown off in state media in recent weeks appeared too small and crudely designed to process and transmit high-resolution images.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Find out more AP coverage of the Asia-Pacific region at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
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