North Korea says it’s about to launch its first military satellite. Here’s what we know so far
released photos of Kim checking the satellite, which observers believe to be a rudimentary device capable of transmitting images. Uk Yang, a military expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, however, believes the resolution of those images is insufficient for high-quality reconnaissance.
As for the additional payload, Yang says the satellite looks small enough–he estimates it’s about 90 cm. long—and unlikely to serve any function other than reconnaissance. “If they want another function, they need to shoot another satellite,” he tells TIME. But with much of the information coming from state media, Yang believes Pyongyang can easily lie about what they’re sending into outer space, adding that “there’s no credibility in their actions in the international sense.”the satellite’s scheduled deployment and urged its neighbor to “withdraw its illegal launch plan immediately” or face consequences, according to a government statement.
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, third from left, in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, May 29, 2023.Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un is, however, unperturbed by the global opprobrium. When Kim visited the reconnaissance satellite site on May 16, he asserted that the spacecraft was “an urgent requirement of the prevailing security environment”—alluding to the increasing presence of the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific and its improving military alliance with South Korea.
But on top of improving Pyongyang’s military technology, the launch is also a “prestige project” for Kim, says Michael Raska, assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. “He has to show the North Koreans that they’re making progress,” Raska tells TIME, adding that the launch can be seen as a “signaling of prestige that will boost Kim’s credibility internally.
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