Military: "North Korea's Satellite Successfully Enters Orbit... Satellite Technology Still Developing"

North Korea's Claim of Filming 'Korean Peninsula and Hawaii' Called "Showy Propaganda"

It is judged that the military reconnaissance satellite recently launched by North Korea has entered orbit, but it is expected to take a long time to assess the technical progress of the satellite body.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeon Ha-gyu, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a regular briefing on the 27th, "The so-called military reconnaissance satellite launched from the Dongchang-ri launch site at night on the 21st by North Korea is currently believed to have entered orbit," adding, "We are comprehensively analyzing the trajectory and other factors." Spokesperson Jeon evaluated, "The military reconnaissance satellite launched by North Korea this time is a means capable of delivering a nuclear warhead based on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), making it a serious threat to our national security."

However, regarding the failure of North Korea's first reconnaissance satellite launch in May, the analysis of debris collected by our military showed that "the level of North Korean satellite technology was crude," and he added, "It is somewhat limited to expect technical progress of the satellite body within a few months from then."

A military official also explained to reporters that the reconnaissance satellite launched by North Korea on the 21st has successfully entered orbit and is orbiting the Earth. He referred to North Korea's Earth observation satellite 'Kwangmyongsong-4,' which was successfully launched in February 2016 but malfunctioned a few days later and fell to Earth in July this year, saying, "Compared to that time, it is judged that some technical progress has been made." Regarding North Korea's claim that its military reconnaissance satellite 'Malligyung-1' has captured images not only of the entire Korean Peninsula including Busan but also as far as Hawaii and Guam in the United States, he expressed skepticism. Compared to other countries possessing military reconnaissance satellites, which typically take several months to verify operational status and improve image quality, North Korea's announcement is considered premature.

The official said, "Generally, it takes several months after launch to achieve normal imaging. North Korea's announcement seems to be a showy propaganda," adding, "The judgment on the normal operational capability of North Korea's reconnaissance satellite will be continuously evaluated by domestic related agencies in cooperation with the United States."

Regarding reports that South Korean-made semiconductors and Japanese commercial digital cameras were found in the debris of the first reconnaissance satellite collected in May, he refrained from detailed explanation, saying, "Our reconnaissance capabilities would be exposed." He said, "Military reconnaissance satellites need to have 'sub-meter' resolution capable of identifying objects smaller than 1 meter to be effective, but it is already known that North Korea's satellite does not meet that standard. It was like that in May, and when asked experts whether it could improve in six months, they said it is 'technically impossible.'"

On the possibility that the satellite level was raised with Russian technical support, he evaluated negatively, saying, "It could be possible if Russia provided the entire satellite body, but there remain compatibility issues with North Korea's launch vehicle and control center software."

Meanwhile, the military authorities have ended the debris recovery operation conducted after North Korea's third military reconnaissance satellite launch on the 21st.

Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated at the Ministry of National Defense's regular press conference on the same day in response to related questions, "Our military ended the debris search and recovery operation for North Korea's so-called 'military reconnaissance satellite' launch, which began on November 21, as of November 26." He added, "From immediately after the launch, our military set the debris fall zone and deployed naval vessels, aircraft, and deep-sea divers to conduct a six-day search and recovery operation, but no meaningful debris was found during the operation period."

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