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NewsRescue
According to Pyongyang state media and the South Korean military, North Korea launched a military surveillance satellite into orbit on Tuesday. The successful launch followed two earlier this year failed attempts.
KCNA announced the launch on Wednesday morning, claiming that a rocket “accurately put the reconnaissance satellite ‘Malligyong-1’ on its orbit.” The launch was confirmed by South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, who stated that the projectile flew south over Japan.
It sparked a ballistic missile warning in Japan, and inhabitants of Okinawa were advised to seek shelter.
The launch came after two previous attempts in May and August, both of which were aborted shortly after takeoff. Pyongyang has made a third try.
The launch was criticised by both Japan and the United States, with the White House calling it a “brazen violation” of numerous UN resolutions and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida calling it “a very serious matter that greatly concerns the safety of our people.”
The Malligyong-1 satellite’s capabilities are unknown, and it is unclear whether the probe is successfully relaying data back to Earth. North Korea has previously launched two satellites, the most recent in 2016. Both satellites, Pyongyang claims, were part of its civilian space programme.
North Korea’s space agency said in a separate announcement on KCNA on Tuesday that the new launch was in response to “the space militarization drive of the United States and its followers.” With Japan and South Korea also preparing launches in the next months, the agency stated that it is North Korea’s “sovereign right” to reply in kind.
Following a period of détente under US President Donald Trump, North Korea has considerably increased its missile programme in recent years, launching a record number of missiles in 2022. With Pyongyang apparently ready to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017, US President Joe Biden warned Kim in April that any nuclear assault on the United States or its allies would “result in the end” of his regime.
