North Korea plans to follow up last year's launch of a spy satellite by putting several more in orbit by the end of this year, according to state media.
Pyongyang plans to make itself a "space power," putting it on the fast track to economic and scientific prowess, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) wrote Monday in a report marking the 11th anniversary of North Korea's space industry.
The reclusive country successfully launched its first surveillance satellite, Malligyong-1, last November. The U.S. condemned the action as a breach of the United Nations Security Council resolutions aimed at limiting dual-use technology that could advance the Kim Jong Un regime's ballistic missile program.
The launch also set into motion a North-South tit-for-tat that further raised the temperature on the Korean Peninsula.
The report cited National Aerospace Technology Administration Deputy Director General Pak Kyong So as saying Malligyong-1 represented the progress the ruling Workers' Party of Korea has made toward strengthening national defense as part of the party's policy of conquering space.
He added that "several" more reconnaissance satellites are planned for this year.
"The development of the space industry is of great importance in the construction of a powerful socialist country in which the leap forward is firmly guaranteed by cutting-edge science and technology," he was quoted as saying.
The North Korean embassy in China did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Doubts remained about the functionality of Malligyong-1 until February, when Marco Langbroek, an aerospace engineering lecturer at the Netherlands' Delft University, observed the spacecraft had fired its thrusters in order to rise to a higher orbit, citing tracking data from the U.S. military.
"One thing we have seen is that both the Democratic People's Republic of Korea missile and space programs very quickly learn from failures, and we are now seeing them getting more and more successful," Langbroek told Newsweek.
"I have just completed an additional analysis that shows that all these small maneuvers were done at moments that the satellite passed over North Korea, and all around 10-11 p.m. local time. So control seems to be done from North Korea itself (i.e. not outsourced to China or Russia), likely from Pyongyang's General Satellite Control Center."
He added that it "makes sense they are going to try to launch more and gain more experience with that."
The KCNA article followed last week's statement by South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun that the North was already laying the groundwork for a new satellite launch, though he added there was no indication the launch was imminent.
"Aside from whatever legitimate purposes they may serve, North Korea's satellites enable it to identify, track and surveil South Korean, U.S. and Japanese forces, assets and countermeasures both on the peninsula and in the wider region," Sean King, Asia scholar and senior vice president of New York-based consultancy Park Strategies, told Newsweek.
"And the more satellites Kim Jong Un has in orbit, the more complete picture he gets. What's more, his reconnaissance abilities will only increase due to his burgeoning cooperation with Russia's Vladimir Putin," he added.
After two prior attempts believed to be failures, North Korea said it put Malligyong-1 into orbit on November 21, 2023, in what the White House called a "brazen violation" of United Nations Security Council sanctions. North Korea said the move was necessary for self-defense and later claimed the spacecraft had captured detailed photos of the White House and Pentagon.
Kim met with Putin at Russian space launch facility the Vostochny Cosmodrome in September, fueling speculation Moscow was assisting Pyongyang with its satellites among other programs. South Korea's intelligence agency later said Russian technical assistance was most likely behind the launch's success.
Seoul responded to the launch by partially suspending a landmark 2018 defense agreement meant to reduce the risk of military conflict on the Korean Peninsula, prompting Pyongyang to drop the pact entirely, further intensifying the diplomatic freeze between the North and South.
In December, South Korea launched its own first spy satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, leading the North to decry the U.S.'s "double standard."
Update 4/2/24, 12:50 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and a comment from Sean King.
Update 4/2/24, 2:09 p.m. ET: A previous version of this article said Marco Langbroek had analyzed Dutch tracking data, but his analysis was based on U.S. military data.
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Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
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