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| ▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R), along with his daughter Ju-ae, visits the National Aerospace Development Administration in Pyongyang on April 18, 2023, in this file photo provided by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. Kim instructed the agency to complete preparations to launch the North's first military reconnaissance satellite by the end of this month. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) NK leader-inspection
(LEAD) N. Korean leader inspects military spy satellite facility: state media
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES throughout; ADDS byline)
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, May 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the country's first military reconnaissance satellite and gave the green light for its next action plan, Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday, adding that the satellite is "ready for loading" on a rocket.
Kim made the on-site inspection to the Non-permanent Satellite Launch Preparatory Committee a day earlier to check the overall status of the spy satellite and approved of its "future action plan," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, in a move that signals the launch could be imminent.
"After acquainting himself in detail with the work of the committee, he inspected the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1 which is ready for loading after undergoing the final general assembly check and space environment test," it said in an English-language dispatch.
Kim stressed that the successful launch of the satellite is an "urgent requirement" under the prevailing security environment and a process of "bolstering up the defence capabilities on a top priority basis."
He also said "the more desperately the U.S. imperialists and South Korean puppet villains" escalate their confrontational moves against the North, "the more fairly, squarely and offensively" it will exercise its right to self-defence to deter them.
The KCNA did not provide further details, including the exact date of the launch.
Photos released by the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, showed Kim and his daughter Ju-ae attending the inspection in lab gowns and head caps.
The latest inspection marks Kim's first public activity since his on-site visit to the North's space development agency on April 18, when he announced that the North has completed building its first military spy satellite.
In December last year, Pyongyang said it had conducted an "important final-stage" test at its rocket launching facility on putting the satellite into orbit.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's back and ready to launch a rocket[https://youtu.be/0jVyCdE0QDw]
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