![](https://www.news360express.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/yt.jpg)
The defense ministry has confirmed that on the 5th January, South Korea conducted a successful flight of a solid-fuel rocket which carried a satellite over the sea near Jeju Island on Monday. The achievement of this comes in the time when the country is going on a serious competition, space race with North Korea. It is worth noting that this is a third successful test proving its technology used during previous attempts on March 31st and December 9th, 2022. According to a statement released by the ministry, the launch was based on technology provided by the Korean state-run Agency for Defense Development, while the booster and satellite were manufactured by South Korean Hanwha Systems (KRX: 272210).
According to Hanwha Systems, the satellite was able to send signals on the ground control center, making it suitable for civil activities like environmental monitoring. The launch was hailed by the ministry as a major success, particularly following North Korea’s first military espionage satellite launch. This North Korean satellite has been criticized by the United States and its allies because the missile technology which is used in it contradicts with UN resolutions concerning international security.
The defense ministry highlighted that South Korea’s successful launch would significantly bolster the nation’s surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. In a separate development, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried South Korea’s inaugural spy satellite into orbit on Friday, launching from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Nevertheless, on Monday, North Korea expressed criticism, condemning what it perceived as a “double standard” from Washington regarding the satellite launches by the two Koreas. The North Korean statement characterized American standards as “brigandish” and declared that such a dual approach would not be accepted.
![](https://www.news360express.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ty.jpg)
The North’s space agency, as reported by state media outlet KCNA, affirmed North Korea’s commitment to the essential mission of establishing aerospace surveillance capabilities. The goal is to comprehensively monitor and control the military activities of the United States and other perceived hostile forces.
In the previous month, North Korea executed a launch of a military reconnaissance satellite. According to state media reports, leader Kim Jong Un received images of prominent locations, including the White House, Pentagon, and U.S. aircraft carriers, at a naval base in Norfolk, Virginia.
Such a reconnaissance satellite may, for instance, provide North Korea with capabilities to watch the actions of American, Korean and Japanese armies. uitgen.: It enables North Korea to watch the acts done by US, South Korean, and the Japanese armies. However, while doing so South Korean’s own Satellites target to reduce its dependency on American Intelligence systems.
The satellite has not released any photograph of North Korea which has left the experts from foreign countries predicting its efficiency. Such launches have been justified by pyongyang as exercises of the sovereign right due to complaints.
(“This story remains unedited by News360Express staff and is published from a syndicated feed.”)