Kim Jong Un inspects North Korea’s first military spy satellite

The reconnaissance satellite is an important part of Kim’s plan to modernize and improve the country’s military capability.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected the country’s first military spy satellite, signaling the start of what state media described as a “future action plan”.

Kim met with the committee leading the satellite’s development on Tuesday before reviewing the satellite, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim said the successful launch of the military reconnaissance satellite was an “urgent demand from the country’s prevailing security environment,” the report said.

KCNA has not provided details on when the launch could take place.

The North Korean leader gave the green light last month when it was announced that construction of the satellite had been completed.

That announcement came about a week after Pyongyang tested a new intercontinental solid-fuel ballistic missile, marking a major breakthrough for its banned weapons programs.

Analysts have said there is significant technological overlap between ICBM development and space launch capabilities.

On Tuesday, “after acquainting himself extensively with the work of the committee, [Kim] inspected the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1, which is ready for loading after undergoing the final general assembly check and space environment test,” said KCNA.

A military reconnaissance satellite was one of the key defense projects Kim outlined in a 2021 plan to modernize and advance the country’s military prowess.

In December 2022, North Korea said it had conducted a “major final phase test” for the development of a spy satellite, which it said would be completed by April this year.

Experts in South Korea were quick to question the results at the time, saying the quality of the black-and-white images released by North Korea – supposedly from a satellite – was poor.

38 North, a US-based monitoring project for North Korea, said earlier this week that satellite imagery suggested activity on the launch pad of North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station had resumed after a nearly six-month hiatus.

But it added that much more work needed to be done for the site to carry out a satellite launch.

The United States and South Korea have stepped up security cooperation as part of the expansion of North Korea’s weapons program by organizing joint military exercises involving advanced stealth jets and bombers.

North Korea views such exercises as rehearsals for an invasion and says its own weapons program is necessary for its defense.