Kim Jong Un says North Korea has finished development of 1st spy satellite
During his visit to the North's aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim stressed it's crucial to acquire a space-based surveillance system in the face of what he called U.S.-led security threats, the Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim said “the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1” had been built as of April and ordered efforts to speed up final preparations for its launch at a date that wasn't disclosed. He said North Korea must launch several satellites to firmly establish an intelligence-gathering capability, KCNA said. North Korea, for its part, has carried out about 100 rounds of missile tests since the start of last year, about 30 of them this year. Observers say while North Korea protests the U.S.-South Korean drills, it also uses them as pretext to advance its own military capabilities that it believes would apply more pressure on Washington to make greater concessions such as the relaxing of sanctions.
Kim's comments appeared to link the spy satellite to the North's escalatory nuclear doctrine, which authorizes pre-emptive nuclear strikes. According to KCNA, Kim said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to “use pre-emptive military force when the situation demands.”
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