South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said on Sunday (19) that North Korea is about to launch a space rocket to put its first reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
“South Korea and the United States are closely monitoring North Korea’s movements. North Korea’s preparations are underway for a launch that will take place in approximately a week,” Shin said in an interview with the radio network and public television KBS. “It takes about a week to move the engine from the test area to Tongchang-ri (where the Sohae space launch base is located in the northeast of the country) and prepare the launch pad and inject the liquid fuel,” Shin added. .
Pyongyang tried to put its first spy satellite into orbit in May and August, but both attempts failed due to problems with the Chollima-1 space rocket, and dictator Kim Jong-un’s regime announced that it would make a new attempt in October.
According to Shin, Seoul’s military intelligence believes that North Korea appears to have solved the rover problems “with the help of Russia.” Seoul believes that the summit held in September between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin served to consolidate a cooperation and trade agreement in the military and aerospace sphere.
Washington and Seoul consider it proven that North Korea recently delivered millions of artillery rounds to Russia for use in Ukraine and believe that Pyongyang may be receiving technological support and advice for this new launch in return.
The South Korean Defense Minister once again stressed the importance of this launch, as, if successful, in addition to representing an advance in North Korean surveillance capabilities, it would imply the ability to place a target weighing several hundred kilograms in orbit. low Earth, something that could be applied to its ballistic missile program. Sanctions by the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, prohibit these types of launches against North Korea, considering that they are a secret test to test technology applicable to intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The new North Korean attempt could coincide with the launch, from California (USA), of Space X’s Falcon 9, which on November 30th will attempt precisely to place South Korea’s first reconnaissance satellite into orbit.
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