SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered officials to launch its first spy satellite as planned, saying that boosting the country’s reconnaissance capabilities is a key priority to counter “threats” from the US and South Korea, state media reported on Wednesday (Apr 19).
North Korea in December conducted what it called an “important, final phase” test for the development of a spy satellite and said it would complete launching by April.
During a visit to the national space development agency on Tuesday, Kim urged launching the satellite as planned and ordered deploying multiple reconnaissance satellites to bolster the country’s surveillance capabilities, state news agency KCNA said.
“(Kim) said … securing and operating military reconnaissance measures are an important priority task to improve the military efficiency and practicality of our various war deterrence measures,” KCNA said.