SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered officials to launch its first spy satellite as planned, saying that boosting the country’s reconnaissance capabilities is a key priority to counter “threats” from the U.S. and South Korea, state media reported on Wednesday.
North Korea in December conducted what it called an “important, final phase” test for the development of a spy satellite and said it would complete launching by April.
During a visit to the national space development agency on Tuesday, Kim urged launching the satellite as planned and ordered deploying multiple reconnaissance satellites to bolster the country’s surveillance capabilities, state news agency KCNA said.
“(Kim) said … securing and operating military reconnaissance measures are an important priority task to improve the military efficiency and practicality of our various war deterrence measures,” KCNA said.
After the December test, which South Korea and Japan had said involved the launch of two intermediate-range ballistic missiles, North Korea released black-and-white, low-resolution images of the South Korean capital Seoul and nearby port city Incheon that it said were taken during the launch.
Kim’s visit to the space development agency comes just days after North Korea tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday, a development Pyongyang says would “radically promote” its forces and experts say would facilitate missile launches with little warning.
(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Chris Reese and Josie Kao)
