South Korea on Wednesday suspended part of a military agreement it signed with Pyongyang in 2018 after the reclusive North defied warnings from Washington and its allies and launched a spy satellite, calling it a success.
The suspension of the clause in the agreement would see South Korea increase military surveillance along the border.
North Korea said it put its first spy satellite into orbit on Tuesday.
Pictures published by the North Korean news agency KCNA show what appears to be leader Kim Jong Un watching a fiery rocket launch from the base.
Kim was then briefed on the satellite’s initial operations at the space agency’s control center in Pyongyang and viewed images taken over Guam of key US military installations, including Andersen Air Force Base, KCNA said.
Kim stressed the need to launch more reconnaissance satellites in different orbits to give his armed forces “a lot of valuable real-time information about the enemy and further promote their responsive posture”, he said.
A North Korean rocket carrying the Malligyong-1 spy satellite is launched at a location given as North Gyeongsang Province on November 21, 2023. via REUTERS
The satellite will begin its official reconnaissance mission on December 1, after adjustments, KCNA said.
South Korea and Japan, which first reported the launch, could not immediately confirm whether the satellite was in orbit.
The Pentagon said the US military was still assessing whether the launch was successful.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in Britain for a state visit, approved the decision to suspend part of the inter-Korean agreement.
Pictures published by the North Korean news agency KCNA show what appears to be leader Kim Jong Un watching a fiery rocket launch from the base. via REUTERS
Yoon earlier chaired a National Security Council meeting with ministers and intelligence chiefs via video link.
The pact, known as the Comprehensive Military Agreement and aimed at reducing tensions between the warring parties, was signed at a 2018 summit between former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un.
Critics say it weakens Seoul’s ability to monitor North Korea’s actions around the border, while Pyongyang is in flagrant violation of the agreement.
South Korea said it suspended a clause in the agreement and resumed air surveillance near the border on Wednesday.
The agreement, known as the Comprehensive Military Agreement and aimed at reducing tensions between the warring parties, was signed at the 2018 summit between former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
SHOW STRENGTH
On Wednesday, the US nuclear-powered submarine USS Santa Fe docked in a South Korean port, a day after the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson arrived in a show of force against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
Visiting the aircraft carrier, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said the joint maritime exercise with the United States and Japan was planned to show their “strong will” to respond to any provocation by the North, his office said.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson called the satellite launch “a flagrant violation of several UN Security Council resolutions.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged North Korea to fully comply with the UN resolution, which bars the use of technology used for its ballistic missile program, a spokesman said.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson called the satellite launch “a flagrant violation of various UN Security Council resolutions.” KCNA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, Pyongyang’s closest ally, called on all parties to ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
KCNA said the Malligyong-1 satellite was launched on a Chollima-1 rocket from the Sohae satellite launch facility at 10:42 p.m. Tuesday and entered orbit at 10:54 p.m.
North Korea has informed Japan that it plans to launch a satellite between Wednesday and December 1, after two failed attempts to launch so-called spy satellites this year.
South Korea’s military said it believed the latest rocket was carrying a reconnaissance satellite. Aegis-equipped destroyers from South Korea, Japan and the United States are in a position to track the launch vehicle and share information.
RUSSIAN CONTINUATION
Tuesday’s launch was the first since Kim Jong Un met Vladimir Putin at Russia’s state-of-the-art space facility in September, where the Russian president pledged to help Pyongyang build satellites.
South Korean officials said the latest launch was likely to involve technical assistance from Moscow under a growing partnership that has seen North Korea send millions of artillery shells to Russia.
Some missile experts, however, said it was too early for Russian technical assistance to be fully incorporated into satellites or rockets and that Moscow would not share highly sensitive and proprietary technology.
“These consultations may not be deep engagements in design, but may target specific challenging aspects of North Korea’s planned design,” said Hong Min, a North weapons expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
North Korean scientists and engineers from the National Directorate of Aeronautics and Space Technology celebrate the launch with Kim Jong Un.KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
Russia and North Korea have denied conducting an arms deal, but have publicly promised deeper cooperation.
The launch comes more than a week before South Korea plans to send its first spy satellite into space on a rocket operated by US company Space X.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
