North Korea to SPY on US military drills
North Korean strongman Kim-Jong Un has claimed to have launched a military satellite as part of a plot to spy on the US military.
Pyongyang said it sent “a space launch vehicle” that accidentally triggered an evacuation order in South Korea’s capital Seoul.
The country’s state news agency KNCA had previously sent Joe Biden a chilling warning and a thinly veiled threat of retaliation amid anger over US military exercises.
Kim Jong-Un, seen here at a missile launch exercise in March, has threatened to use nuclear weapons against his South Korean neighbors
![North Korea to SPY on US military drills 2 North Korea tested a missile from an undisclosed location in March, angering South Korean officials](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/1685487261_266_North-Korea-to-SPY-on-US-military-drills.jpg)
North Korea tested a missile from an undisclosed location in March, angering South Korean officials
Ri Pyong Chol, a member of North Korea’s summit, said the satellite will be “indispensable for tracking, monitoring, discerning, controlling and pre-handling the dangerous military actions of the US and its proxies that are openly declaring their reckless ambition for aggression.’
US and South Korean military officials have conducted live fire warfare exercises close to the border of the impoverished dictatorship.
The last exercises took place on Thursday to mark 70 years of military alliance between the two nations.
North Korean officials said that leader Kim has already signed the final preparations for the launch.
The mouthpiece’s media outlet gave no details on the specific launch date.
But the communist regime told Japan it has planned a launch between May 31 and June 11, prompting Tokyo to put its ballistic missile defenses on alert.
Japanese officials have said it would shoot down any projectile that threatens its territory, claiming the launch would violate international law.
The North has long claimed it has tactical nuclear weapons capable of hitting targets in South Korea.
Photos published in the state newspaper in March are the first alleged evidence.
But until those arms are tested, there’s no way to know if they’re authentic.
The satellite launch would be the latest in a series of missile launches and weapons tests, including one of a new intercontinental solid-fuel ballistic missile last month.
Analysts say the satellite will improve North Korea’s surveillance capability, allowing it to more accurately strike targets in the event of war.
Spy satellites are among a series of high-tech weapons systems that Kim had publicly promised to develop.
Various other weapon systems on his wish list include solid-propellant ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles, and multi-warhead missiles.
The launch of the North satellite comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Since early 2022, North Korea has tested more than 100 missiles, some of them with nuclear weapons, that bring the US mainland, South Korea and Japan at very close range.
North Korea claims its testing period is to warn of extensive military exercises between the US and South Korea, but observers say North Korea is aiming to modernize its weapons program and then make bigger concessions from its rivals in future dealings.
In 2005 it admitted to having nuclear weapons but pledged to close its nuclear program and on 9 October 2006 announced that it had successfully conducted its first nuclear test.
![North Korea to SPY on US military drills 4 Former President Donald Trump spoke to advisers about North Korea's use of nuclear weapons and trying to blame someone else, according to a recent book](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/1685487263_686_North-Korea-to-SPY-on-US-military-drills.jpg)
Former President Donald Trump spoke to advisers about North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons and trying to blame someone else, according to a recent book
A book about ex-President Donald Trump alleged that he once threatened to use US nuclear weapons on land and blame someone else.
The US and North Korea were in a tense and dangerous confrontation in 2017 when Trump spoke of unleashing “fire and fury” on Kim’s regime, according to New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt’s book.
According to the account, Kelly, a retired Marine general, tried to push back and explain that the plan wouldn’t work.
“It would be hard not to point the finger at us,” he told the president.
The reported clash came after North Korea’s repeated missile launches and repeated threats from Trump, leading policy experts to worry about a possible military clash.