Embarrassment for North Korea: South Korea's military said on Wednesday that its personnel had managed to locate and rescue a North Korean satellite from the crash site of a failed space launch, and that the satellite being tested lacked any military value.
Last month, the South Korean Navy managed to locate the crash site of a missile and a spacecraft that crashed minutes after being launched off North Korea's west coast. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un participated in the launch of the satellite and, according to various media reports, was outraged by the failure.
"After a detailed analysis of the main parts of the North Korean launch vehicle and the satellite we were able to recover, experts from South Korea and the United States determined that they had no military use as a spy satellite at all," the South Korean military said in a statement.
The South Korean military said it had completed its operation to recover the wreckage of the spacecraft and satellite, which began after the crash, which occurred off South Korea's west coast. According to the army's announcement, naval aircraft, ships and divers took part in the complex operation.
the launch of the satellite by North Korea,
This is the first time any country has managed to get its hands on a North Korean-made satellite, a feat that has shocked many military experts. While experts in South Korea estimated that the satellite would possess inferior photography and transmission capabilities to its counterparts in other large armies, the poor level of the equipment surprised even experts.
Ying yuk, of Seoul's Asan Institute for Government Studies, said: "The quality and resolution of the camera device loaded on the satellite is too poor for any military use."
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