North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the Pyongyang Space Center and praised scientists who recently tested a '
reconnaissance satellite
', which analysts have warned was a ballistic missile launch at barely disguised, state media reported on Thursday.
North Korean state media claimed that "
another important test
" for the development of a reconnaissance satellite had been carried out the previous week.
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Neighboring South Korea described it as another ballistic missile launch.
Kim "
expressed great satisfaction that they confirmed the aerospace photography method, the operating characteristics of the high-resolution photography equipment and the reliability of the image transmission system through the recent large tests
", the official KCNA news agency reported.
He “
highly appreciated the successes that the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) has recently achieved
,” KCNA continued.
The development of the "
reconnaissance satellite
" is part of the strategy for monitoring "
aggression troops from Washington (...) and its vassal forces in and around the Korean Peninsula
,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
North Korea faces tough international sanctions for its nuclear weapons programs, but peaceful satellite launches are not subject to the same level of restrictions, despite using much of the same technology.
The development of a military reconnaissance satellite - as well as a series of banned weapons, including hypersonic missiles, tested in January - is officially one of Pyongyang's main defense projects, as Kim pointed out. Last year.
Pyongyang is ignoring US offers of talks and threatening to drop a self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear weapons testing.