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North Korea could launch spy satellite as early as this week | Military News<\/p>\n
Pyongyang says it will attempt its latest satellite launch before December 2 as Japan and South Korea remain on standby.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n North Korea has said it plans to launch a spy satellite as early as Wednesday, following two unsuccessful attempts earlier this year.<\/p>\n North Korea formally notified Japan that the launch will take place at some point before December 2, prompting Japan and South Korea to issue maritime warnings for ships in the Yellow and East China seas.<\/p>\n While Japan is one of North Korea\u2019s top enemies, it is also the coordinating authority for the International Maritime Organization overseeing the waters under the pathway of the satellite launch.<\/p>\n Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida immediately spoke out against the plan, something North Korea regards as its sovereign right, along with its rocket programme.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if the purpose is to launch a satellite, using ballistic missile technology is a violation of a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions,\u201d Kishida told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cIt is also a matter that greatly affects national security.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Japan\u2019s and South Korea\u2019s militaries will be on high alert ahead of the launch, joined by the USS Carl Vinson, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, at South Korea\u2019s naval base in Busan.<\/p>\n Kishida said the three countries will work together to \u201cstrongly urge\u201d Pyongyang to cancel the launch.<\/p>\n South Korea has been warning for weeks of the impending satellite launch, which they said would also violate a 2018 agreement designed to de-escalate tensions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sternly warn North Korea to \u2026 immediately suspend the current preparations to launch a military spy satellite,\u201d Kang Ho-pil, chief director of operations at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIf North Korea goes ahead with the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite despite our warning, our military will take necessary measures to guarantee the lives and safety of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether the satellite launch will be successful is far from certain.<\/p>\n North Korea has successfully launched at least two \u201cobservation\u201d satellites in the past, but its two attempts so far this year have been a failure.<\/p>\n South Korean officials say the wreckage from a recent launch showed the satellite had \u201cno meaningful use\u201d for reconnaissance.<\/p>\n This time, however, Pyongyang may have had help from Russia following a rare visit by leader Kim Jong Un there in September to meet President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the country\u2019s east.<\/p>\n Analysts speculated at the time that Kim may have offered some of his country\u2019s ammunition \u2013 badly needed for the Russian war effort in Ukraine \u2013 in exchange for help with the satellite programme.<\/p>\n A spy satellite is a priority of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un\u2019s plan to modernise the country\u2019s military and\u00a0develop cutting-edge weapons.<\/p>\n He hopes to one day have a fleet of satellites to monitor the movements of US and South Korean troops in the region and enhance its military capability.<\/p>\n South Korea separately plans to launch its own satellite from California on November 30 with US assistance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631<\/a>
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