Tae Yong-ho: "North Korean Reconnaissance Satellites Deemed 'Ineffective'... Originally for ICBM Use"

At the end of May, North Korea launched the reconnaissance satellite 'Manlilkyung 1,' which was recovered by our military authorities. They evaluated that the satellite had no military utility as a reconnaissance satellite. The fact that North Korea has not responded to this evaluation is analyzed to be because the original purpose of the launch was to test the performance of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch vehicle.

On the 12th, Tae Yong-ho, a member of the People Power Party and former North Korean diplomat, stated on his social media (SNS), "If the evaluation is at this level, it would have upset Kim Jong-un as much as when our experts last December described the photos taken by North Korea's satellite launch vehicle as 'poor quality.' Yet North Korea has not responded at all," he said.

Tae Young-ho, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 10th, announcing his intention to voluntarily resign from his position as a Supreme Council member. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Last December, when our experts analyzed that the reconnaissance satellite photos released by North Korea were of poor quality, Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the North Korean Workers' Party, issued a statement with harsh expressions such as "Stop the nonsense" and "The despicable habits of the South Korean puppets," showing a fierce reaction. It is therefore strange that North Korea remains silent regarding the evaluation that the reconnaissance satellite has "no military utility" at all.

Rep. Tae analyzed, "It is highly likely that the original purpose was to test the performance of a launch vehicle intended for ICBM use. If so, North Korea would not have equipped good imaging equipment from the start, and there would be no reason to react strongly to our military's evaluation of 'no military utility.'"

He added, "North Korea already stated last December that after launching two launch vehicles from the West Sea launch site, it had passed the final stage of the military reconnaissance satellite launch process. Nevertheless, the fact that they equipped inferior imaging equipment this time shows that North Korea still lacks confidence in the carrier needed for reconnaissance satellites. In any case, it seems clear that there has been a significant setback in Kim Jong-un's declared pace of military reconnaissance satellite development, which aimed to successfully launch the first military reconnaissance satellite by April this year."

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