The UN resolutions are clearly not a hindrance for North Korea, which launched its first spy satellite on Tuesday. The next day, its southern neighbor estimates that the satellite has entered orbit. Pyongyang claims that thanks to this launch, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was able to examine photographs of the main American military bases on Guam.
Kim Jong-un “viewed the aerospace photos of Anderson Air Force Base, Apra Harbor and other major military bases of US forces, taken from the sky over Guam in the Pacific, received at 9:21 a.m. on the 22nd November,” announced KCNA, the North Korean state agency.
Other satellites to come
A rocket that took off Tuesday evening followed the planned trajectory “and managed to put the Malligyong-1 satellite into its orbit,” the agency previously announced. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as North Korea is officially known, plans to launch more satellites “in a short period of time” to strengthen its surveillance capabilities over South Korea, he said. she adds. “The launch of a reconnaissance satellite is a legitimate right of the DPRK to strengthen its self-defense capabilities,” underlined KCNA as the country considers itself threatened by South Korea and the United States.
The spy satellite that North Korea claims to have launched appears to have entered orbit, the South Korean military announced Wednesday. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the craft “was assessed as having entered orbit based on comprehensive analysis of flight path information and various circumstances.” But, from the same source, it “will take time to determine if the satellite actually works”.
Suspension of an agreement with South Korea
Without condemning the launch, China, Pyongyang’s old ally, considered the situation “complex and sensitive”. “All parties concerned must remain calm and show restraint (…) and do more things conducive to easing tensions,” urged a spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Mao Ning, to the press.
Seoul reacted by announcing the partial suspension of a military agreement signed with Pyongyang on September 19, 2018 to reduce tensions along the highly secure inter-Korean border, in particular by creating maritime “buffer zones”. This suspension could not be notified directly to Pyongyang because “the lines of communication with North Korea are cut,” a spokesperson for the South Korean government told AFP. The satellite launch was also condemned by the United States, Japan and the United Nations.
Violation of UN resolutions
“Any launch by North Korea that uses ballistic missile technology is contrary to Security Council resolutions,” recalled UN chief Antonio Guterres’ deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, in a statement. “Even if they call it a satellite, launching an object that uses ballistic missile technology is clearly a violation of United Nations resolutions,” said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
This shot is “a flagrant violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, increases tensions and risks destabilizing the region and beyond,” reacted the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House.
Experts say successfully orbiting a spy satellite would improve North Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly over South Korea, and provide crucial data in the event of a military conflict. South Korea, for its part, plans to launch its first spy satellite, via a SpaceX rocket, during the month of November.