North Korea examined a spy satellite tv for pc over the weekend, state-run media reported Monday, in a launch that South Korean protection officers mentioned was a ballistic missile take a look at. Photograph by Yonhap
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (UPI) — North Korea carried out an “necessary final-stage take a look at” for a reconnaissance satellite tv for pc that it goals to finish by April, state media reported on Monday.
The take a look at was held on Sunday on the Sohae Satellite tv for pc Launching Floor, Korean Central Information Company reported.
The announcement comes a day after South Korea’s navy mentioned it detected two medium-range ballistic missiles fired from the Tongchang-ri space, the place the Songhae launch website is positioned.
Earlier this yr, North Korea used satellite tv for pc launches as cowl for checks associated to its banned intercontinental ballistic missile program. On Monday, a South Korean protection ministry spokesman advised reporters that assessments of the missile launches “stay unchanged” within the wake of the North’s claims.
In a report carried by the KCNA, an unnamed spokesperson for North Korea’s aerospace company mentioned the take a look at launch was “primarily aimed to judge the capabilities of satellite tv for pc pictures and knowledge transmission system and floor management system.”
The spokesman mentioned that the automobile carrying the take a look at satellite tv for pc, which included cameras, transmitters and receivers, was fired at a excessive angle and reached an altitude of 311 miles.
The KCNA report included black-and-white aerial photographs of Seoul and neighboring metropolis Incheon, presumably taken as a part of the satellite tv for pc’s digital camera take a look at. The aerospace company known as the launch an “necessary success” and introduced it will end preparations for its first navy reconnaissance satellite tv for pc by April.
Final week, the North claimed it efficiently examined a solid-fuel engine for a “new-type strategic weapon system” on the Sohae launching floor.
Consultants imagine that the North Korean regime is seeking to good a solid-fuel ICBM, which was one among 5 key protection business objectives set out at a celebration congress final yr.
Pyongyang has launched greater than 60 ballistic missiles this yr, a file excessive. Officers in Seoul and Washington have assessed that North Korea has accomplished preparations for a nuclear take a look at, which might be its seventh general and first since 2017.