North Korea’s space agency is planning to launch a new satellite in the near future, state media reports say, indicating that the country may be preparing to launch a long-range missile.
According to Reuters, reports from the North’s KCNA news agency suggest that North Korea is planning to fire a rocket sometime around the 70th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) on Oct. 10.
"The world will clearly see a series of satellites of Songun Korea soaring into the sky at the times and locations determined by the WPK Central Committee," KCNA reported Monday. "Songun" points to North Korea’s "military first" policy.
According to the news source, the director of North Korea’s space agency, the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA), said, "The NADA is pushing forward at a final phase the development of a new earth observation satellite."
"Successful progress made in reconstructing and expanding satellite launching grounds for higher-level satellite lift-off has laid a firm foundation for dynamically pushing ahead with the nation’s development of space science," the NADA director is quoted as saying.
U.N. Security Council resolutions bar North Korea from using ballistic missile technology in tests. Yet, the country has still pushed forward with missile and nuclear programs despite international warnings and sanctions.
Satellite images recently captured suggest that North Korea has activated a second uranium centrifuge hall at its Yongbyon fuel fabrication plant, which could double the country’s ability to produce weapons-grade uranium.
Moreover, the North Korean military said in May that it has the capability of miniaturizing nuclear weapons, a crucial step toward building nuclear missiles, though the U.S. National Security Council has expressed skepticism at the claim.
North Korea insists that the rocket launches are part of a space program with the goal of putting satellites into orbit. While satellite imagery indicated that North Korea had updated its main satellite launch site, South Korea’s defense minister has insisted that there is no evidence of preparation to launch a missile.