North Korea says spy satellite essential against possible US ‘nuclear attack’

North Korea has said its spy satellite programme is essential to counter a ‘preemptive nuclear attack’ by the US as the country tries to secure ‘world domination’, according to state media KCNA.

Ri Song Jin, described by the organisation as a researcher at the National Aerospace Technology Administration, accused the US of seeking greater military dominance in Asia by expanding its space force, writing in an article titled ‘US space force deployment aimed at preemptive aggression war’.

Mr Ri highlighted a recent visit by the US Space Force commander to Tokyo, and the deployment of a Space Force component in South Korea, where its members took part in joint military drills for the first time this year.

He said the moves were ‘nothing but a camouflaged curtain to cover up the scenario for preemptive attack on the anti-US and independent countries’, including North Korea, China and Russia.

‘Now that the US is getting hell-bent on space militarisation, with a preemptive nuclear attack as its ultimate target by massively introducing space force into the Korean peninsula and its vicinity, space development, including a military reconnaissance satellite, is an indispensable strategic option for guaranteeing the security interests and right to existence of the DPRK,’ said Mr Ri, referring to the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The country already has intercontinental ballistic missiles, but has twice tried and failed to launch a spy satellite this year. 

The first, in May, took off from the country’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on board a Chollima-1 rocket, a three stage vehicle. The rocket plunged into the sea after losing thrust following the separation of its first and second stages.

A second launch in August also failed after the rocket booster experienced a problem with its third stage – but not before it had sparked Japan’s emergency warning system, which told residents of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to take cover.

Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said parts of the rocket had fallen into the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and Pacific Ocean – and along with it, the Malligyong-1 satellite.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Vladimir Putin at Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome in the east of the country. The pair discussed military capabilities, with Kim pledging to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and Putin offering Pyongyang help to launch satellites in return.

Since the meeting there has been a sharp increase in rail traffic across the border between the two nations.

Russia has a long and illustrious history in space, putting both the first satellite in orbit and the first man in space. However it has become increasingly isolated in recent years, more so since the invasion in Ukraine. 

In August an attempt to land on the Moon for the first time in almost half a century ended in failure when its Luna-25 landed crashed into the surface while manoeuvering for landing.

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