The success occurred less than two week after Pyongyang put its reconnaissance craft into orbit
South Korea launches its first military spy satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, December 1, 2023. © SpaceX / AP
South Korea successfully launched its first domestically made military spy satellite on Friday, amid tensions with its northern neighbor.
The satellite carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was successfully placed into orbit and is operating normally, the South Korean Defense Ministry said, as cited by the Yonhap news agency.
The satellite is capable of detecting objects as small as 30 centimeters (11.8 inches), Yonhap said.
Seoul has relied on US commercial and military satellites for high-resolution images. The launch provides the South Korean military with “its own intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” a Defense Ministry official was quoted as saying.
Read more
The launch occurred less than two weeks after North Korea put its own first spy satellite Malligyong-1 into orbit. Pyongyang also reported that its new space asset was functioning normally and has claimed that it had already photographed the White House, the Pentagon and several US naval bases.
Pyongyang’s state-run KCNA news agency released a statement on Saturday, warning the US that any “hostility” toward the satellite would be treated as “a declaration of war.”
Washington condemned North Korea’s launch, arguing that it violated the international ban on Pyongyang’s ballistic missile technology. The US, Australia, Japan and South Korea imposed new sanctions on North Korea this week, citing “illicit and destabilizing activities.”
