SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected photos taken by the country’s new spy satellite of “major target regions”, state media reported on Saturday (Nov 25), including the South Korean capital of Seoul and cities that host US military bases.
Nuclear-armed North Korea launched the satellite on Tuesday, but South Korean defence officials and analysts said its capabilities have not been independently verified.
Kim examined photos of Seoul and other cities of Mokpo, Kunsan, Pyeongtaek and Osan, where US and South Korean military bases are located. The photos were taken as the satellite passed over the peninsula on Friday morning, state news agency KCNA said.
Kim examined the photos, as well as images of some areas within North Korea, during a visit on Friday to the control centre of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) in Pyongyang.
On Saturday, Kim visited the control centre once again to examine more photos taken in the morning of different target regions in South Korea: Jinhae, Busan, Ulsan, Pohang, Daegu and Gangneung.
One photo showed US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, which arrived at a port in the South Korean city of Busan on Tuesday, according to KCNA.
During the visit, Kim also inspected photos of US Naval Station Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base taken by the satellite as it passed over Hawaii early on Saturday.