North Korea on Wednesday claimed it had successfully placed a reconnaissance satellite into orbit in its third launch attempt this year, demonstrating the country’s determination to build a space surveillance system amid long-term tensions with the United States.
North Korea’s claims could not be immediately independently confirmed. Observers question whether the satellite is advanced enough to perform military reconnaissance. But the launch still drew strong condemnation from the United States and its partners, as the United Nations bans North Korean satellite launches as cover for missile technology tests.
North Korea’s space agency announced that its new Cheonlima-1 carrier rocket accurately placed the Wanrikyeong-1 satellite into orbit about 12 minutes after liftoff from the country’s main launch center on Tuesday night.
North Korea attempts to launch third military reconnaissance satellite, reports South Korea and Japan
On November 21, 2023, a television broadcasts J-Alert (National Early Warning System) to Japanese residents in Tokyo. The Japanese government announced that North Korea launched a missile. According to South Korea’s military, North Korea launched a rocket in its third attempt to put a reconnaissance satellite into orbit. (AP Photo/Hoshiko Eugene)
North Korea vows to continue acquiring important military assets after second reconnaissance satellite launch failure
The National Aerospace Technology Administration argued that the launch was a legitimate right to strengthen North Korea’s self-defense capabilities. The ministry said the reconnaissance satellite would help improve North Korea’s war preparedness in the face of “dangerous military actions of the enemy.”
The agency said Kim Jong Un, the leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea, oversaw the launch and congratulated the scientists and others involved. The report said North Korea plans to launch several more reconnaissance satellites to increase surveillance of South Korea and other areas.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrian Watson said the United States strongly condemned North Korea’s launch, saying it “risks escalating tensions and destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond.” He said the launch included technology directly related to North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile program.
South Korea said the launch would suspend the 2018 inter-Korean de-escalation agreement and resume front-line aerial surveillance of North Korea. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the launch a “serious threat affecting the safety of the people” and said Japan condemned the launch in the strongest terms and protested to North Korea.
According to South Korean and Japanese assessments, the rocket carrying the satellite flew from the west coast of the Korean peninsula over Japan’s Okinawa island towards the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese government temporarily issued a J-Alert missile warning for Okinawa and urged residents to evacuate.
Spy satellites are among the key military assets coveted by Mr. Kim, who wants to modernize his weapons systems to deal with what he calls a growing U.S.-led threat. North Korea attempted a launch earlier this year, but it failed due to technical problems.
North Korea has vowed to carry out its third launch in October. South Korean officials said earlier delays were likely due to North Korea receiving Russian technical assistance in its reconnaissance satellite launch program.
North Korea and Russia, America’s increasingly isolated adversaries worldwide, have been working hard in recent months to expand ties. In September, Kim visited Russia’s Far East, met with President Vladimir Putin and visited key military sites, ending intense speculation about an arms deal.
The deal is said to include North Korea supplying conventional weapons to replenish Russian ammunition stocks depleted in the war with Ukraine. In return, North Korea wants Russia’s help in ramping up its nuclear program and other military programs, foreign governments and experts say.
During Kim’s visit to Russia, President Putin told state media that Kim had “expressed a strong interest in rocket technology” and said he would help North Korea build satellites.
Russia and North Korea have dismissed allegations of an arms transfer agreement as baseless. Such a deal would violate the United Nations ban on any arms trade involving North Korea.
Leif Eric Easley, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha University, said Tuesday’s launch could raise questions, including whether North Korea’s satellite actually served a reconnaissance function and whether Russia provided technical or even material support. He said it raises more questions.
“What is already clear is that this is not a one-off event, prioritizing military power over economic development, blackmailing South Korea over reconciliation, and engaging with Russia and China instead of pursuing diplomacy with them.” “This is part of North Korea’s strategy to further develop ties with the United States,” Easley said.
North Korea has conducted about 100 ballistic missile tests since last year to establish a reliable nuclear weapons stockpile targeting the United States and its allies. Many foreign experts say North Korea has the last remaining technologies it needs to master to acquire a functioning nuclear missile.
But experts say having a rocket capable of putting a satellite into orbit means North Korea can build a missile that can carry a warhead the same size as the satellite.
South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol said in a written response to questions from The Associated Press last week that North Korea’s successful launch of a reconnaissance satellite “will show that North Korea’s ICBM capabilities have reached a higher level.”
Yun, who is currently on a state visit to the UK, convened an emergency Security Council meeting where officials decided to seek a suspension of the 2018 deal. South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik has instructed the military to prepare for the possibility that North Korea uses the suspension of the agreement as an excuse to launch provocations.
Japan’s Japan Coast Guard announced early Tuesday that North Korea had told Tokyo that it would launch a satellite between Wednesday and Nov. 30. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno criticized North Korea for carrying out the launch before it had even begun.
North Korea has been subject to 11 UN sanctions over past nuclear and missile tests. However, North Korea is unlikely to face new sanctions over Tuesday’s launch. Russia and China have already blocked the UN Security Council’s response to North Korea’s latest round of launch activity.
In June, Kim Yo Jong, Kim’s sister and a senior ruling party official, called the Security Council a “political appendage” of the United States. The council called it “discriminatory and disrespectful” and said it only focused on North Korea’s satellite launches, while thousands of satellites launched by other countries are already in operation.
North Korea’s two previous satellite launches, in May and August, used the same rocket and satellite used in Tuesday’s launch.
In the first attempt, a North Korean rocket carrying a satellite crashed into the sea shortly after liftoff. North Korean authorities said the rocket lost thrust after the first and second stages separated. After the second attempt, North Korea announced that there was an error in the emergency blasting system during the third stage flight.
South Korea recovered debris from the original launch and claimed the satellite was too crude for military reconnaissance.
Some civilian experts have said that North Korea’s artificial satellite Wanrikyo-1 is likely to be able to detect only large targets such as warships and planes. But by operating multiple such satellites, North Korea could still monitor South Korea at all times, they said.
Mr. Kim is also keen to introduce other sophisticated weapons, including more maneuverable intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines, and multi-warhead missiles. Officials believe that Mr. Kim ultimately wants to use the expansion of his weapons stockpile to extract greater concessions from the United States, such as sanctions relief, once diplomacy resumes.
In response, the United States and South Korea have expanded their regular military exercises and increased the temporary deployment of powerful U.S. military assets to South Korea. On Tuesday, the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and her battle group arrived at a South Korean port in a new show of strength against North Korea.
