North Korea has released satellite imagery of South Korea’s Seoul and Incheon cities presumed to have been shot during test. More details here!
North Korea prepares to launch its first spy satellite
North Korea plans to complete “preparations for the first military reconnaissance satellite by April, 2023,” the official said in the KCNA report.
A rocket carrying what was described as a “test-piece satellite” — including multiple cameras, image transmitters and receivers, a control device and a storage battery — was launched at a “lofted angle” to an altitude of 500km (311 miles), according to KCNA.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday that North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration conducted the test on Sunday at the country’s Sohae satellite launching station in Cholsan, in North Pyongan Province.
A rocket carrying what was described as a “test-piece satellite” — including multiple cameras, image transmitters and receivers, a control device and a storage battery — was launched at a “lofted angle” to an altitude of 500km (311 miles), according to KCNA.
“We confirmed important technical indicators such as camera operating technology in the space environment, data processing and transmission ability of the communication devices, tracking and control accuracy of the ground control system,” an unnamed North Korean aerospace spokesperson said in the KCNA dispatch.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported on Monday that KCNA also released satellite imagery of the South Korean capital “Seoul and its adjacent city of Incheon presumed to be shot from the test-piece satellite”.
On Sunday, North Korea also fired two medium-range ballistic missiles, which flew for an estimated 500km (311 miles) before splashing down in the sea off the country’s eastern coast. On Friday, Pyongyang announced that it had tested a high-thrust solid-fuel engine which experts said would facilitate quicker and more mobile launch of its ballistic missile arsenal.
In an emergency meeting on Sunday, top South Korean security officials deplored what they described as North Korea’s continued provocations that they said came despite “the plight of its citizens moaning in hunger and cold due to a serious food shortage”.
Japan’s Defence Ministry also said on Sunday that it had detected a fleet of five Chinese warships, including an aircraft carrier off the southern Japanese island of Okidaitojima the previous day. Ministry officials said Chinese fighter jets and helicopters were engaging in takeoff and landing exercises on the carrier and that Japan responded by scrambling fighter jets and dispatching a destroyer to the area. here
