N Korea’s Kim orders launch of 1st surveillance satellite

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the launch of the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite as a deterrence measure against persisting US-led war games near its waters.

"Possessing and operating military reconnaissance means is the most crucial primary task for increasing the military effectiveness and utility of different war deterrence means," Kim emphasized as he hailed Pyongyang’s remarkable core space sci-tech achievements during a visit to the country’s National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA), state news agency KCNA reported Wednesday.

He further underlined the significance of developing the space-based surveillance system to counter continued US-led military threats against the nation, citing what he referred to as the serious security threats posed by “the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action” by the United States and South Korea's actions this year.

Kim also noted that Pyongyang must launch several satellites to firmly establish its intelligence-gathering capability to effectively use its methods of war deterrence.

The North Korean leader then went on to lash out at the US and South Korea for expanding their hostile military campaigns in the name of bolstering their alliance, blaming Washington for transforming South Korea into “an advanced base for aggression” by deploying strategic assets like aircraft carriers and nuclear-capable bombers.

North Korea: US-South Korea drills driving tensions to 'brink of nuclear war'

North Korea says joint military drills by the United States and South Korea are pushing tensions on the Korean Peninsula to the "brink of a nuclear war," vowing to respond with "offensive action."

"In the light of the present situation, in which the US imperialists are deploying nuclear carriers, nuclear strategic bombers and other huge strategic assets of various missions on a permanent basis on the Korean peninsula and its vicinity to turn south Korea into an advanced base for aggression and an arsenal for war, and of the prospective concern that the military actions of the US and south Korea threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] under the pretext of the allied readiness would get more undisguised," Kim pointed out.

One of the objectives of developing the military reconnaissance satellite is to acquire capability to “use pre-emptive military force when the situation demands,” he added.

Tension mounts ahead of US-South Korea drills

Hundreds of South Koreans have staged a rally in capital Seoul to protest the upcoming military drills with the US.

This is while Western military experts have discounted Pyongyang’s possession of sophisticated cameras to use on an advanced military reconnaissance satellite arguing that photos it has released from previous test launches were low-resolution imagery.

However, Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader’s sister and a powerful advisor, dismissed such assessments, noting that the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test.

Kim further explained that the nation's recent weapons tests, including North Korea’s first test-launch of a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland, were in response to the continuous and beefed up war games jointly conducted by the US and key regional allies, South Korea and Japan.

The development comes as the US and South Korean militaries continued their joint war games this week by launching a 12-day aerial exercise involving some 110 warplanes and staged a one-day naval missile defense exercise with Japan.

North Korea regards such drills as a show of aggression and rehearsal for an invasion of the country.

In response to the relentless US-led war games in the region, Pyongyang has carried out nearly 100 missile tests since the start of last year, about 30 of them this year.

North Korea military development programs include a nuclear-power submarine, a hypersonic missile and a multi-warhead missile, according to press reports.

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