South Korea's SEOUL (AP) — According to officials on Thursday, South Korea has deduced that North Korea most likely used Russian assistance to launch a spy satellite into orbit this week. By early next week, they will know whether the satellite is operating as intended.
With both Koreas threatening to break a previous reconciliation agreement and acting hostilely along their heavily armed border, the launch has heightened tensions in the region.
North Korea announced on Tuesday night that it had successfully launched its "Malligyong-1" satellite into orbit, following two unsuccessful launches earlier this year. The military of South Korea has acknowledged that the satellite has entered orbit, but it will take a few more days to confirm that it is functioning as intended.
Legislators who attended the closed-door briefing on Thursday were informed by South Korea's spy agency that the launch was probably successful primarily because of Russian assistance.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, was previously reported by the National Intelligence Service to have pledged support for North Korea's satellite programme. According to the report, it also learned that North Korea had given Russia the blueprints and other information for the new "Chollima-1" rocket, which was launched unsuccessfully the two times before. Lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum, who attended the NIS briefing, stated that the intelligence indicated that Russia had returned its analysis of the North Korean data.
At a separate parliamentary committee meeting on Thursday, South Korea's Defence Minister Shin Wonsik stated that it looks like Russia has been lending technological support to North Korea's satellite programme.
For all three launches, the same rocket and satellite were utilised. The two previous attempts in May and August were unsuccessful because of the rocket's technical issues.
Since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia in September to meet with Putin and tour important military and technological sites, there has been conjecture that Russia is financing the country's satellite programme and other initiatives. Russia's primary space launch facility served as the venue for the Kim-Putin summit.
When asked at the time if Russia would assist North Korea in developing and launching satellites, Putin responded, "That is why we have come here," according to Russian official media. "The leader of North Korea exhibits a strong interest in rocket technology. According to Putin, they are also attempting to develop space.
North Korea is accused by the United States, South Korea, and Japan of receiving advanced Russian military technology in exchange for providing conventional weapons to Russia during its conflict in Ukraine. North Korea and Russia have both refuted the reported agreement.
On December 1, the Malligyong-1 satellite, according to North Korea, will officially launch. However, it claimed that Kim had seen the satellite's previously transmitted images of military installations on Guam, a U.S. territory. North Korea has not made the pictures public.
Regarding the satellite's military significance and its capacity to capture high-resolution images, many foreign experts are dubious. The South Korean military declared that the satellite lacked the necessary sophistication to carry out military reconnaissance after recovering debris from the first unsuccessful launch attempt.
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Defence Minister Shin expressed concern that Russia might assist North Korea in creating satellite images with greater resolution.
According to Shin, as early as this weekend or early next week, South Korean, American, and Japanese authorities will be able to ascertain whether the satellite is operating normally.
The satellite launch was sharply denounced by South Korea, the United States, and Japan, who claimed that North Korea was using it to upgrade its missile technology and obtain a space-based surveillance system.
Resolutions passed by the U.N. Security Council forbid North Korea from launching any satellites because they see them as covert demonstrations of long-range missile technology. In response to what it perceives as military threats led by the United States, North Korea claims the sovereign right to launch spy satellites. It claims that spy satellites would improve its ability to track the movements of its adversaries and increase the accuracy with which its nuclear-capable missiles could strike targets.
South Korea said it has partially suspended a 2018 agreement to lower tensions with North Korea in response to the satellite launch and will resume flying drones and surveillance aircraft along their border.
On Thursday, the Defence Ministry of North Korea denounced the decision made by South Korea, stating that it would respond with equal vigour by stationing more potent weaponry at the border. It declared that it would no longer be constrained by the 2018 agreement and would undo all the actions it had taken to reduce military tensions on the front lines.
In response, the military of South Korea threatened to "strongly punish" North Korea for any provocative actions.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea stated that although North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday, it most likely failed to reach the sea. It was the first known nuclear launch by North Korea in over two months.
Kim has made it known that she intends to purchase spy satellites and other cutting-edge weaponry. In an attempt to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal, North Korea has launched roughly 100 ballistic missiles into space since last year. According to experts, if negotiations resume, Kim's ultimate goal is to use his larger arsenal to extract more concessions from the US.