North Korea confirms its plan to launch a spy satellite in June

North Korea today confirmed its plan to launch in June a satelite spy intended to expand surveillance of “the military acts of the United States and its vassal forces”, which it considers a threat, according to the state agency KCNA

In a statement published this Tuesday by the aforementioned outlet and signed by the vice president of the North Korean single party Military Commission and a key figure in the country’s missile program, Ri Pyong-chol, the regime confirmed that “the military reconnaissance satellite No. .1 from the DPRK will be released in June.”

The acronym DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

In the letter attacking the military maneuvers of the United States and its allies in the region, and in which it accuses Washington of espionage and threatening its sovereignty, North Korea points out that, in the current situation, “we constantly feel the need to expand our means of reconnaissance and information, and improve various defensive and offensive weapons.”

In this sense, Pyongyang affirms that it already has “the schedules to carry out the development plans” for these devices, without providing further details, and said that it will continue to analyze “present and future threats” and strengthen its deterrent power. L

North Korea’s statement matches the notification made to the Japanese authorities about the launch of the alleged satellite device, which revealed the day before that the neighboring country would plan to launch it sometime between Wednesday and June 11.

North Korea’s National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) reported in April that it had completed preparations to launch a military reconnaissance satellite.

The North Korean leader himself, Kim Jong-un, visited the facilities on several occasions in preparation for the launch. North Korea has launched five space rockets with which he said he was looking to put observation satellites into orbit, the last one in February 2016.

The international community considered in each case that the regime was trying to covertly test ballistic missile technology, and no expert has ever picked up any sign of North Korean devices being deployed into Earth orbit.

Pyongyang has since tested numerous intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the last one on April 13.

Prepared with information from EFE