South Korea on Wednesday partially suspended a military agreement with North Korea, which announced it had put a spy satellite into orbit in violation of UN resolutions.
A rocket that took off Tuesday evening followed the planned trajectory “and managed to put the Malligyong-1 satellite into orbit”, the official North Korean agency KCNA announced on Wednesday.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – North Korea’s official name – plans to launch more satellites “in a short period of time” to strengthen its surveillance capabilities of South Korea, KCNA added.
“Launching a reconnaissance satellite is the legitimate right of the DPRK to strengthen its self-defense capabilities”underlined the agency while the country considers itself threatened by South Korea and the United States.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pyongyang’s spy satellite “was assessed to have entered orbit based on comprehensive analysis of flight path information and various circumstances”adding that he “It will take time to determine whether the satellite actually works.”
North Korea had already tried twice, without success, to put a satellite into orbit, last May and August.
Agreement partially suspended
South Korea reacted by announcing the partial suspension of a military agreement signed with North Korea on September 19, 2018 to reduce tensions along the highly secure inter-Korean border, in particular by creating “buffer zones” maritime.
A spokesperson for the South Korean government told AFP that Seoul had not been able to notify Pyongyang directly of the suspension of this agreement, because “lines of communication with North Korea are cut.”
The satellite launch was also condemned by the United States, Japan and the United Nations.
“Any launch by North Korea that uses ballistic missile technology is contrary to Security Council resolutions” of the United Nations, underlined the deputy spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres, Farhan Haq, in a press release.
“Even if they call it a satellite, launching something that uses ballistic missile technology is clearly a violation of United Nations resolutions,” highlighted the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida.
This shot is “a blatant violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, increases tensions and risks destabilizing the region and beyond,” also reacted the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the White House.
The launch comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in September, after a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, that his country could help Pyongyang build satellites.
Seoul and Washington later claimed Pyongyang was shipping weapons to Russia, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warning that military ties between North Korea and Russia were “increasingly numerous and dangerous”.
Experts say successfully orbiting a spy satellite would improve North Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly over South Korea, and provide crucial data in the event of a military conflict.
South Korea, for its part, plans to launch its first spy satellite, via a SpaceX rocket, during the month of November.
