Kim Jong-un inspected satellite images of the White House and “important target areas in the enemy region.” Analysts say that’s not necessarily a bad sign.
Rome, Washington, the Pacific island of Guam: Kim Jong Un has taken a little trip around the world in the last few days. Not personally, however, because he leaves his isolated kingdom North Korea Dictators rarely happen – and when they do, they prefer to be in the direction of Russia. Rather, Kim examined all of these locations on satellite images, as the state news agency KCNA proudly announced on Tuesday (November 28). The images were taken by Malligyong-1, the country’s first spy satellite, which was launched into space a week earlier on board a carrier rocket.
The selection of other destinations observed shows that Kim is less interested in holiday destinations such as Rome (taken on November 25th at 5:56 p.m. and 28 seconds Pyongyang time). These include Anderson Air Force Base in the US territory of Guam and an airfield and several naval facilities in the US state of Virginia. According to KCNA, you can see there: a British and four US aircraft carriers. Kim also inspected the White House in Washington and the Pentagon “in great detail” on the satellite images. In the past few days, Kim had already been shown pictures of, among other things, Pearl Harbor and several cities in South Korea (“important target areas in the enemy region”). The message behind such reports is clear: Kim now has the whole world in view – but above all the arch enemy USA.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un “very happy” after satellite launch
The dictator was “very satisfied” and expressed “on behalf of the party’s Central Committee his highest appreciation” to the scientists from North Korea’s space agency NATA who were involved in the satellite launch, KCNA said on Tuesday. The previous week, Kim had already exuberantly proclaimed a “new era as a space power” at an event with NATA employees. However, Kim sounded less enthusiastic after the first two failed attempts in May and August of this year, when the country failed to launch a spy satellite into space. At the time, Kim spoke of a “serious” failure.
According to experts, the fact that the launch was successful this time could also have something to do with the increased cooperation with Russia following a meeting between Kim and Vladimir Putin in September. Russia may have provided its ally with technological support, for example by Russian scientists analyzing data from the first two false starts. Kim Jong-un presented initial plans for the development of a spy satellite in early 2021.
Why North Korea’s satellite launch also has a good side
According to the analysts Victor Cha and Ellen Kim from the US think tank Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) Last week’s successful satellite launch could have both a negative and positive impact on the situation on the Korean peninsula. “A fully operational military satellite capability will provide North Korea with real-time information on U.S. and South Korean military activities on the peninsula. “This could also enable North Korea to make progress in developing a survivable nuclear deterrent,” said the two experts.
At the same time, however, the satellite images could show the North Korean regime that the USA and South Korea have no immediate plans to attack Pyongyang – a fear often expressed by Kim. This, according to Victor Cha and Ellen Kim, “could help stabilize the peninsula.”
Several UN sanctions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles, the technology of which was now also used in the launch of “Malligyong-1”. In response to the launch, South Korea partially suspended a five-year-old agreement to ease military tensions along their shared border, after which the North suspended the agreement entirely and set up guard posts on the border, according to Seoul sources. Japan and the USA also condemned the start. On Monday, North Korea’s UN Ambassador Kim Song-am spoke of a “legitimate” act of self-defense. As a reason, he once again cited the alleged threat from the USA.
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