2023-05-17 02:48:00
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected his country’s first spy satellite and approved a “future action plan” for its use, state media reported.
Kim met with the Non-Standing Preparatory Committee for Satellite Launch on Tuesday before observing the satellite.reported the official agency KCNA, quoted by AFP.
Last April 18, Kim announced that the construction of the satellite had been completed and gave the green light for its launch.
A week earlier, Pyongyang launched what it called a new solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile, a breakthrough in its weapons program.
On Tuesday “after learning in detail about the committee’s work, (Kim) inspected the No. 1 military reconnaissance satellite, which is ready for use after undergoing a final check and space environment test,” KCNA said.
The North Korean leader then “approved the future action plan of the preparatory committee,” the agency added.
The development of a military reconnaissance satellite is one of the key defense projects proposed by Kim in 2021.
North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power last year, undoing a possible denuclearization talks.
“Since North Korean reconnaissance satellites are an important factor in a possible preemptive nuclear attack, they present a significant threat to the South,” Yang Moon-jim, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP in April.
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