According to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea carried out a “final-stage test”
on Sunday for the creation of a spy satellite, the first military surveillance satellite.
The National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) official stated that the test
was undertaken largely to evaluate the capabilities of the ground control system and the
satellite photography and data transmission system.
According to the spokesperson, this test confirmed photography control command and
attitude control command for various types of cameras in an ideal environment simulating a
space environment following the high-angle launch of a test-piece satellite into an altitude of
500 km with one panchromatic camera for a 20-meter resolution test, two multispectral
cameras, a video transmitter, transmitters and receivers of several bands, control devices, and
batteries.
The test confirmed the important technical indicators, including the technology of camera
operation in the space environment, the data processing and transmission capability of
communication devices, and the tracking and controlling accuracy of the ground control
system, according to KCNA. The NADA announced that it would finish the preparations for
the spy satellite by April 2023.
Pyongyang’s latest missile launch comes a month after it launched an intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) believed to be capable of reaching the whole of the continental US.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff denounced North Korea’s missile launches and dubbed
them “acts of significant provocation” that threaten both the world community and peace and
stability on the Korean peninsula. It was stressed that the action was a “clear” violation of the
resolutions of the UN Security Council.