On Wednesday, North Korea said it launched its first spy satellite into space and plans to launch more to protect itself from its enemies’ military actions.
Experts said that if the spacecraft is successful, it could greatly enhance North Korea’s military power, allowing it to better aim at its enemies.
The satellite named “Malligyong-1” was sent into space on a new rocket called “Chollima-1” on Tuesday, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea says it has the right to launch a spy satellite to protect itself.
South Korea, the United States, and Japan are having more military problems with North Korea. They don’t know if the satellite went into space.
South Korea said the launch broke a UN rule that stops North Korea from using ballistic missiles.
On Wednesday morning, the South Korean government stopped part of a deal it had with North Korea. This deal limited South Korea’s spying and watching activities along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the two countries.
The rocket took the satellite south and is thought to have gone over Japan’s Okinawa area.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, spoke out against the missile launch. He called it a serious problem that puts the safety of people in Japan at risk. He also said that Japan will keep working with the US and South Korea to deal with North Korea’s missile launches.
Seoul’s military said on Wednesday that they had been watching and working closely with the US to track the preparations for the launch.
Aegis destroyers from South Korea, the US, and Japan were sent to monitor the launch. They are now studying all the details about it.
Pyongyang tried to send a satellite into space in May, but the rocket had a problem and the satellite crashed into the sea.
KCNA stated that the new engine system was not reliable or stable and the fuel used was also not stable, which led to the mission failing.
In August, a second try failed because there was a problem with the emergency blasting system during the third stage of the flight, according to a report from KCNA.
The rocket broke into many pieces and fell into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean, as told by Japanese officials.
Tuesday night, North Korea tried to launch a missile for the third time. This was expected and North Korea has said they will try again.
North Korea’s space agency wants to launch more spy satellites to keep an eye on South Korea. They plan to do this quickly.
Pyongyang said having a satellite was a way to protect itself from the US, South Korea, and Japan.
This week, North Korea criticized the US for possibly selling advanced missiles to Japan and military equipment to South Korea. They called it a “dangerous act” in a report from KCNA.
North Korea said it was clear who the weapons were intended for and would be used against.
Experts said that having just one satellite in space makes North Korea’s military position stronger.
“If it is successful, it will make the North Korean military better at commanding and controlling, as well as improving their ability to gather information and monitor things. ”
Panda said that they will use what they learned from Tuesday’s launch to help make better satellites in the future.
“They will use what they learn from this successful launch for more launches in the future. ” They want to have a strong and extra backup group of satellites that observe Earth. This will make a big difference for North Korea’s overall strategic awareness abilities, he said.
But some people warned that we still don’t know how good the thing Pyongyang launched on Tuesday really is. Some people thought the North would suffer more if the South started gathering information near the border again, than it would benefit from the satellite launch.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said that the surveillance drones in Seoul might gather better information than North Korea’s basic satellite program along the DMZ.
South Korea’s defense minister Shin Won-sik said last Sunday that North Korea is close to fixing its rocket engine problems with help from Russia.
After North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went to Russia in September, he visited the Russian space rocket launch site with President Vladimir Putin.
In the meeting, Putin showed that he is ready to help North Korea with its space and satellite program.
But Panda warned against assuming that help and advice from Russia had made the third launch successful.
“I don’t think it’s likely that North Korea has gotten help from Russia and used it yet because of the timeline,” he said.
“Also remember that the North Koreans are very capable now. ”