N.Korea to launch spy satellite in June to monitor 'dangerous' activities of US, S.Korea
'Due to the reckless military moves of the United States and south Korea, we constantly feel the need to expand the reconnaissance information means,' says official
By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) – North Korea announced on Tuesday that it will launch its first military spy satellite in June to monitor “dangerous military actions” by the US and South Korea, state-run media said.
In a statement, Ri Pyong Chol, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, called the spy satellite "indispensable to tracking, watching" and coping with the dangerous military actions of the US.
"Under the present situation, which was created due to the reckless military moves of the United States and south Korea, we constantly feel the need to expand the reconnaissance information means and update different kinds of defensive and offensive weapons and have the timetable for implementing development plans," Ri was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency.
His statement came a day after South Korea’s Foreign Ministry threatened North Korea that if it pursued its plan to launch a spy satellite, it would pay "due prices” and suffer a “pain.”
Ri also accused Washington and Seoul of launching a "combined joint firepower annihilation drill," the largest-scale exercise in six years, in the Phochon area of South Korea's Kyonggi Province, near the military demarcation line.
Following Ri's statement, South Korean military spokesperson Han Sung-keun said that the US and South Korean militaries are closely monitoring North Korea's planned launch of a military spy satellite.
"We are tracking and monitoring various possibilities of provocation, including North Korea's claim of a so-called satellite (launch)," Han was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.
Meanwhile, the top US commander in South Korea reaffirmed on Tuesday Washington's commitment to defend Seoul in case of any threat.
"The last thing I would like to say is don't question the United States' commitment, its ironclad," US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamerahe said at an event at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in central Seoul, according to the agency.
"The argument of whether it will trade Seoul for Los Angeles or Washington, D.C., is not even worth addressing," he added.
- Japan’s reaction
Japan's chief cabinet secretary said that their forces are monitoring the situation and that Tokyo will immediately release information if North Korea launches what it calls a "satellite."
"Satellite launch involves the use of technology that is almost the same as, and is compatible with, the technology used to fire ballistic missiles," NHK broadcaster quoted Matsuno Hirokazu as saying.
He added that such launches are in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high after Pyongyang's recent missile tests.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
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