[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] North Korean Satellite Claimed to Be Launched... "No Practical Use"

JCS Completes Space Launch Vehicle Recovery Operation
Manligyeong-1 Satellite Resolution Estimated Above 1m

Our military has reached the final conclusion that North Korea's first military reconnaissance satellite launched from Dongchang-ri last May has no military utility whatsoever. This comes 36 days after recovering debris from the North Korean space launch vehicle.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 5th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "The search and recovery operation for debris from the North Korean space launch vehicle has been terminated as of today."

North Korea launched the Cheollima-1 space launch vehicle carrying the Malligyung-1 satellite from Dongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, on May 31. However, the launch vehicle failed to ignite the second stage after separating the first stage and crashed into the sea about 200 km west of Eocheongdo, Gunsan, Jeonbuk Province. The military discovered floating debris presumed to be from Cheollima-1 about an hour and 30 minutes after the launch in the sea where it fell, and on the 15th, recovered the second stage of the three-stage Cheollima-1 rocket. Subsequently, the Malligyung-1 satellite was also retrieved.

Through a detailed investigation of the debris, South Korea and the United States have assessed North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) technology as well as the level of satellite manufacturing technology. The military did not disclose further details or images of the recovered Malligyung-1 or the launch vehicle debris. This is believed to be because if parts of the recovered debris were leaked externally, North Korea could prepare accordingly, which would not be helpful from a military perspective. However, it is known that among the recovered reconnaissance satellite debris, some optical equipment and parts such as cameras attached to the satellite body and optical tubes containing optical cameras were included.

According to the analysis by South Korea and the U.S., the resolution of North Korea's Malligyung-1 is understood to be over 1 meter. This means that one pixel corresponds to an area of 1 meter by 1 meter. For comparison, the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Sentinel satellite has a resolution of 10 meters, the U.S. private satellite operator Planet Labs' SkySat has a spatial resolution of about 70 cm, and the French Airbus commercial satellite Neo has a spatial resolution of 30 cm. Only when the resolution is below about 1 meter can buildings, vehicles, and trees be identified. Therefore, the resolution of North Korea's reconnaissance satellite is practically unsuitable for military use.

When some experts evaluated the photos of downtown Seoul and Incheon Port that North Korea released last December, claiming they were taken by a reconnaissance satellite test model, they described the quality as "poor." In response, Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, issued a statement directly rebutting, saying, "Who would install an expensive high-resolution camera for a one-time test and conduct such an experiment?"

North Korea's "Kwangmyongsong-4" satellite, launched in 2016, has been considered a "dead satellite" as no significant communication with ground stations has been detected. If North Korea's reconnaissance satellites were transmitting information, radio signals from these satellites should also be detected by neighboring countries such as China, Mongolia, and Russia. However, no such signals have been detected. It is understood that only one North Korean satellite, "Kwangmyongsong 3-2," launched in 2012, remains in orbit, but the situation is the same.

In response, North Korea has announced plans for a re-launch. Following the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopting a resolution condemning North Korea's missile launches for the first time in history, North Korea has stated that it may no longer notify the IMO in advance when launching satellites in the future. Inside and outside the military, there is speculation that North Korea may prepare a military parade and a reconnaissance satellite re-launch ahead of June 27, which North Korea claims as "Victory Day" and the anniversary of the Korean War armistice agreement. In particular, it is expected that this parade will be held on a larger scale using a new method to cover up the failure of the military reconnaissance satellite launch on May 31.

Our military has also recently detected maintenance activities such as asphalt repaving at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, and is closely monitoring the possibility of North Korea re-launching a reconnaissance satellite before Victory Day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.