North Korea announces it will launch more satellites, strengthen its military

North Korea's foreign ministry said last week's launch of a reconnaissance satellite was prompted by the need to monitor the United States and its allies, state news agency KCNA reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Ryongsong Machine Works in Pyongyang on November 27, 2023. Photo: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the National Aerospace Technology Administration to inspect the operational readiness of reconnaissance satellites and view the images they send back. Photo: KCNA

Last Tuesday, North Korea successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite into Earth orbit. Photo: KCNA

“It is a legitimate and just way to exercise the right of self-defense and thoroughly respond to and accurately monitor the serious military actions of the US and its backers,” the statement said.

North Korea announced last Tuesday that it had successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite into orbit and was transmitting back images of US and South Korean military bases in the region.

The launch prompted South Korea to partially suspend a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement and resume air surveillance near the border. In response, North Korea said it was no longer bound by the agreement and would deploy weapons on its border with South Korea.

South Korea's defense ministry said North Korean soldiers were observed bringing heavy weapons back into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border area and setting up guard posts that the two countries had demolished under the agreement.

South Korea estimates North Korea has about 160 guard posts along the DMZ and South Korea has 60. Each side destroyed 11 of them, following a military agreement signed in 2018 to reduce escalating tensions and prevent the risk of military clashes.

Armed North Korean soldiers have been spotted restoring damaged guard posts in several locations since Friday, South Korea's defense ministry said, citing photos from cameras in the DMZ.

North Korean soldiers armed with heavy weapons at a guard post in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas. Photo: South Korean Ministry of National Defense.

North Korea is also deploying what appears to be a recoilless rifle — a type of anti-vehicle weapon or light artillery — at a fortress, the statement said, citing a photograph.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again visited the space agency's control center in Pyongyang on Monday morning and viewed new satellite photos of the US Anderson Air Force base in Guam and other places including Rome, KCNA reported.

Meanwhile, the office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he was informed of North Korea's latest activities and ordered military readiness.

The United States has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Monday to discuss North Korea's satellite launch.

On November 22, nine members of the Security Council joined the United States in issuing a statement condemning North Korea's satellite launch for using ballistic missile technology, calling the move a violation of multiple Security Council resolutions.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry protested the move. Russia and China also did not join the statement, having previously refused to join any new Security Council sanctions against North Korea.

Hoang Anh (according to KCNA, Yonhap, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/trieu-tien-tuyen-bo-se-phong-them-ve-tinh-khoi-phuc-nhieu-don-gac-o-bien-gioi-post274169.html