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Japan’s ballistic missile defense system has been put on alert after North Korea notified it of an impending satellite launch between May 31 and June 11. The preparation also came with a warning: any projectile posing a threat to Japan’s territory will be shot down.
Every khbrknews Pyongyang wants to launch a satellite in orbit, the planet is put on edge. Back in 2012, the launch of the earth-observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 caused an international outcry, triggering fears that it was a cloaked missile test. The launch of its successor in 2016 earned similar global condemnation.
The fears are not misplaced. For over 60 years, North Korea has tried to beef up its nuclear program and missile capabilities. Just last year the hermit state tested a record number of projectiles, with 2023 also kicking off with a series of missile launches. A satellite launch in the coming weeks, as Pyongyang is now indicating, will not only give it an opportunity to test the country’s space rocket technology and make it a formidable military force, it will also be a violation of U.N. protocols on the use of long-range missile technology.
Read More: Tracking All of North Korea’s Missile Tests This Year So Far
North Korea’s state media released photos of Kim checking the satellite, which observers believe to be a rudimentary device capable of transmitting images. Uk Yang, a military expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, however, believes the resolution of those images is insufficient for high-quality reconnaissance.
As for the additional payload, Yang says the satellite looks small enough–he estimates it’s about 90 cm. long—and unlikely to serve any function other than reconnaissance. “If they want another function, they need to shoot another satellite,” he tells TIME.
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