North Korea assured this Wednesday that it has successfully launched its first military spy satellite into orbit, following the launch of a space rocket detected by Seoul and Tokyo.
“The Chollima-1 space rocket flew normally along its predefined trajectory and accurately placed the ‘Maligyong-1’ satellite into orbit (…) 705 seconds after launch,” North Korea’s state agency KCNA reported.
The alleged successful launch from Pyongyang, which has not yet been confirmed by the United States or South Korea, follows two failed attempts in May and August, the Efe agency reported.
According to the North Korean state news agency, the event was supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea defended the deployment of its satellite into orbit as part of its legitimate right to strengthen its defensive capabilities, and pledged to launch more of these intelligence equipment “in a short time,” the KCNA note said, quoted by the agency. South Korean Yonhap.
The same Pyongyang source added that the launch “will make a significant contribution to definitively strengthening the warfighting capabilities of North Korea’s armed forces.”
South Korea announced the partial suspension of a military agreement with Pyongyang
The South Korean government today announced the partial suspension of a military deal struck with the North in 2018, after Pyongyang launched its first military spy satellite into orbit.
The agreement, which created buffer zones along land and sea borders and no-fly zones to prevent accidental collisions, “has been partially suspended,” a Seoul government spokesperson confirmed to news agency France-Presse.
“According to procedure, the Ministry of Defense must inform North Korea of this. But since the lines of communication with North Korea have been cut, the Ministry of Defense will simply announce this,” he added.
The 2018 agreement, reached during a brief rapprochement between then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, suspended aerial surveillance activities and live-fire exercises along the entire border.
South Korea’s military said on Tuesday it had detected “what North Korea claims is a military reconnaissance satellite” that was “launched toward the south of the Tongchang-ri area, in the northwest of the country, where it was the Sohae launch base.
The launch also caused the activation of Japan’s National Anti-Missile System for a few minutes, sending a message to residents of Okinawa (southwest) Prefecture warning of the “apparent launch of a missile from North Korea” and stating it was recommended “protection in a building or underground”.
According to Western sources, North Korea may have relied on technological assistance and advice from Moscow for its new launch, following the September summit between the North Korean leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which served to strengthen an agreement aimed at was on cooperation and trade between countries. in the military and space fields.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo condemned the launch, stressing that it is a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which ban these exchanges, as well as Pyongyang’s launch of space missiles, as it involves the use of classified technology for intercontinental ballistic missiles. ICBM).
Source: DN
