South Korea had no military reconnaissance satellites of its own in space and has partially resorted to the United States' spy satellites to monitor moves by North Korea. North Korea earlier said the satellite also transmitted photos of U.S. military facilities in Guam and Hawaii and key sites in South Korea. North Korea responded angrily, saying it has sovereign rights to launch spy satellites to cope with what it calls increasing U.S. hostilities. Since 2022, North Korea has conducted about 100 ballistic missile tests — part of efforts to modernize its arsenal of weapons targeting South Korea and the United States. South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers last week that Russia's technological assistance likely enabled North Korea to place its spy satellite into orbit.

Source: The Hindu December 02, 2023 14:37 UTC