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TV in South Korea: A news program shows a picture of the North Korean missile
Photo: Ahn Young-Joon / dpa
North Korea has tested numerous potentially nuclear-capable missiles this year, two of them just last Sunday.
North Korea is now talking about a test success: The development of an earth observation satellite for military purposes is said to have been successful.
The "important test in the final phase" of the development on Sunday was aimed at checking the possible uses of satellite photography and the data transmission and ground control systems, the state media report, citing the Authority for Aerospace Development.
The test was successful.
The preparations for the launch of a reconnaissance satellite should therefore be completed by next April.
The agency did not release information about which rocket was used to deliver the "satellite test body."
South Korea's military, on the other hand, said it had detected the launch of two medium-range ballistic missiles in the western North Korean province of North Pyongan.
The rockets flew about 500 kilometers east towards the open sea.
Germany condemns missile tests
UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles of any range, which, depending on the design, can also be equipped with a nuclear warhead.
The country, which is largely isolated internationally, has already tested nuclear-capable missiles several times this year.
Its nuclear weapons program is perceived as a direct threat by the US and its allies.
A spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin said: “The German government strongly condemns the recent illegal ballistic missile tests by North Korea.
With the unprecedented series of missile tests in violation of international law since the beginning of the year, North Korea is blatantly flouting its obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and endangering regional and international security and stability.”
A few months ago, after new missile launches, North Korea announced that it was testing a reconnaissance satellite.
According to the United States and South Korea, however, the tests were related to Pyongyang's work on a new intercontinental ballistic missile system.
The space and long-range missiles are largely based on the same technology.
At a congress of the ruling Workers' Party in early 2021, North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un called for the introduction of spy satellites and reconnaissance drones, among other armaments projects.
ptz/dpa