(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — After just a few days since its successful launch, North Korea claims that its spy satellite named “Malligyong-1,” has captured images of sensitive locations within the United States, including the White House, the official residence of President Joe Biden.
Additionally, the North Korean state news agency, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), asserts that the spy satellite has also taken pictures of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, docked at a naval base in Busan, South Korea.
According to the KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un personally examined images of U.S. naval and air force bases at Pearl Harbor and Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, when the satellite passed over Hawaii at 5:13 a.m. Pyongyang time.
Prior to this, Kim Jong-un visited the General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) in Pyongyang to study the operations related to the spy satellite.
The North Korean news agency also claims that the spy satellite has captured images of U.S. and South Korean military bases, including Mokpo, Gunsan, Pyeongtaek, Osan, and Seoul.
KCNA highlights Pyeongtaek as the location of Camp Humphreys, the largest overseas deployment of U.S. military personnel, with additional U.S. military bases in Gunsan and Osan in South Korea.
While KCNA did not release any satellite images allegedly viewed by Kim Jong-un, if the agency’s claims are accurate, it implies that the Malligyong-1 spy satellite, launched on November 21, is operational.
The Pyongyang news agency states that the spy satellite required 62 hours in orbit for “adjustments” before it could capture sensitive images of its “adversaries.”
In another report by KCNA, it is mentioned that Kim Jong-un made a second visit to NATA to observe images of sensitive locations in Inhae, Busan, Ulsan, Pohang, Daegu, and Gangneung.
On November 21, North Korea successfully placed its first spy satellite into orbit after several previous failures.
The National Aerospace Development Administration of North Korea stated that the Malligyong-1 satellite was launched from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station at 10:42 p.m. (13:42 GMT) and entered orbit at 10:54 p.m. (1:354 GMT). Kim Jong-un personally supervised the launch.
The successful launch of the Malligyong-1 spy satellite followed Kim Jong-un’s official visit to Russia in September, during which the relations between the two countries, including in the defense sector, were reportedly enhanced.
Speculation suggests that Russia provided technical assistance to ensure the successful launch of North Korea’s spy satellite.
The Malligyong-1 satellite was launched atop the Chollima-1 rocket at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in the Cholsan area near North Phyongan province. Two previous satellite launches by North Korea in May and August had encountered failures. — DSA
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