Kim Jong-un brought his sister to the plate. After Seoul mocked the image quality of a North Korean-developed spy satellite, Kim Yo Jong argued on Tuesday that Pyongyang had indeed developed advanced technologies to capture images from space.
North Korea announced on Monday that it had conducted a “major test” as part of the “final stage” of spy satellite development. But in Seoul, experts quickly questioned the North Korean claims, saying the quality of the images, which they purported to come from the satellite, was too poor.
In a lengthy vitriolic statement released by state news agency KCNA, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s No. , Pyongyang’s progress and capabilities in satellite development. “We conducted a necessary process and reported (this) meaningful and pleasing result,” she said. You insisted that a camera installed on the satellite had “the reliability of ground control (…) in a suitable spaceflight environment”. She also deemed the data transmission devices reliable.
key project
The development of a reconnaissance satellite was among Pyongyang’s major defense projects unveiled last year by Kim Jong-un. Experts believe the development of such a spy satellite could serve as a front for Pyongyang to test intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which largely share the same technology. “If we develop ICBMs, we will launch ICBMs and not test long-range rockets camouflaged (with) satellites,” refuted Kim Yo Jong.
This weekend’s launch came after a year marked by a record string of weapons tests by Pyongyang, including its most advanced ICBM in November. Washington and Seoul have been warning for several months that Pyongyang could prepare what would be its seventh nuclear test, the first in five years.
