Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters), – North Korea is planning to launch a variety of reconnaissance satellites within the coming years, in order provide live information about military actions taken by the United States and its allies. This was reported Thursday by state media.

Kim stated, while inspecting North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration that “a lot” of military reconnaissance satellites would soon be in sun-synchronous polar orbit under a 5-year plan last year. State news agency KCNA said Kim made the remarks.

According to the news agency, “He pointed out that the objective of operating and developing the military reconnaissance satellite is provide information to the DPRK armed forces on the actual military actions of aggression troops of U.S. Imperialalism and their vasal force forces in South Korea and Japan.”

Experts believe that North Korea is preparing to launch an observation satellite. This could be as controversial as North Korea’s weapon tests. They use the same prohibited ballistic missile technology.

North Korea has claimed that it performed two test launches of its satellite systems in February 27, and March 5, respectively. According to South Korea and Japan authorities, the missile launches were part of the test.

These launches were condemned by the international community. On Thursday, the U.S. military claimed that they had intensified surveillance and collected reconnaissance information in the Yellow Sea.

Also, after North Korean missile test increases, the United States said that its ballistic missile defense capabilities had been augmented.

KCNA reported Kim defended satellite work because it is not just about information gathering but North Korea’s sovereignty and national interest, exercising its legitimate rights to self defense and elevating the nation’s prestige.

“He stressed the urgent task of improving the nation’s war readiness capacity through improving the state’s deterrent, which is a politically and militarily important task that our Party and government are most concerned about,” KCNA stated.

United States and its allies condemn previous North Korean space launch as violating U.N. Security Council Resolutions. They have also imposed sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile programs.

‘MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE’

North Korea hasn’t tested a long-range nuclear weapon (ICBMs), but it has indicated that they could, as talks with the United States have stalled.

The U.S. believes that the latest missile launch could set the stage for a return this year to ICBM or nuclear bomb testing. In its Worldwide Threat Assessment, the Directorate of National Intelligence released this week.

The first satellite to orbit since 2016 would be the one launched in space.

Sub-orbital launches that used medium-range, road-mobile ballistic missiles appeared to have been designed to bring the “key components” of an imaging reconnaissance satellite to operational altitudes in order to conduct testing, 38 North, a U.S. monitoring group said in a recent report.

The group stated that components such as satellite stabilisation and the imaging payload and data transmission could have suffered failures in past tests, so additional testing was required.

“It remains to be seen how capable any North Korean imagery satellite would be, the frequency of launches, or how many such satellites might be maintained in orbit at any one time—all key indicators of the actual military significance of such satellites,” 38 North said.

However, North Korea sees the capability as propaganda and to showcase its leadership and technological prowess, it said.

A launch could make technical contributions to North Korea’s ICBM capability, depending on what type of rocket booster is used, 38 North said.

It stated that it could also serve as a precursor to more dangerous developments like the test of multiple-warhead missiles and solid-propellant ICBMs.