Europe News Desk!!! North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Pyongyang has completed construction of its first military spy satellite and ordered final preparations to launch the satellite as planned. North Korea’s state media reported on Wednesday that the move is expected to escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula. Kim made the remarks on Tuesday during an on-site inspection of North Korea’s Space Development Agency. According to the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang has vowed to complete preparations for the launch of a military spy satellite by the end of this month. Yonhap news agency quoted KCNA as saying that Kim created a non-permanent satellite-launching preparation committee to ensure that work on the military reconnaissance satellite is completed by April and that it is released on schedule, its final preparations Accelerate and strengthen satellite intelligence gathering capability in the future by deploying multiple reconnaissance satellites in different orbits one after the other.
Kim also stressed that the planned launch and operation of the reconnaissance satellite is the most important priority for North Korea, which is expected to strengthen its military effectiveness as a war deterrent by South Korea and the US to strengthen its military position against it. Is for. In December last year, North Korea said it had tested a crucial final stage at its rocket launching facility to put a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. It was Kim’s first visit to the space agency since March last year. He justified the launch of reconnaissance satellites for self-defense and said that this mission can never be abandoned. KCNA published a photo showing a screen displaying the purported military satellite. It is a hexagon shaped structure, which houses four solar panels. Analysts estimate that its weight could be 200-300 kg.
Kim’s directive at the agency to full-scale produce standardized and reliable carrier rockets raised the question of which launch platform the North would employ for its first spy satellite liftoff. Wednesday’s report comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the North has not responded to regular cross-border calls through inter-Korean contact and military communication lines since April 7. There have been other major weapons tests in opposition to joint military exercises, such as the launch of the Hwasong-18 solid fuel ICBM this month and what it claims to be an underwater nuclear attack drone.
–IANS
PK/AKJ
World News Desk!!!