Friday saw the launch of South Korea’s first military spy satellite produced in the country, amid rising hostilities with its northern neighbour.
The gadget was launched from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. As reported by Yonhap news agency, the South Korean Defence Ministry confirmed that it was successfully launched into orbit and is now functioning smoothly.
According to Yonhap, the satellite can identify objects as small as 30 centimetres (11.8 inches) in width.
Up until recently, Seoul’s access to high-resolution imagery had been facilitated by US military and commercial satellites. According to a Defence Ministry official, the launch gives the South Korean military “its own intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.”
Less than two weeks had passed since North Korea launched Malligyong-1, its first spy satellite, into orbit. Along with claiming to have already taken pictures of the Pentagon, the White House, and many US naval facilities, Pyongyang also stated that their new space asset was operating as intended.
In a statement published on Saturday, Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency forewarned the US that any “hostility” directed at the satellite would be viewed as “a declaration of war.”
The launch was denounced by Washington, which said that it went against the worldwide embargo on Pyongyang’s ballistic missile capability. Citing “illicit and destabilising activities,” the US, Australia, Japan, and South Korea put more sanctions on North Korea this week.
