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| ▲ Defense Minister Shin Won-sik briefs on the 2024 budget proposal during a parliamentary session held at the National Assembly on Nov. 1, 2023. (Yonhap) |
defense chief-NK satellite
Defense chief says N. Korea could launch spy satellite in late Nov. with Russian aid
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said Friday that North Korea may have delayed its plan to make a third attempt to launch a spy satellite to fix technological glitches in the third-stage system with Russian assistance.
North Korea made two botched attempts to put a reconnaissance satellite into orbit in May and August and vowed to try again in October, but it failed to meet its self-imposed deadline.
The first attempt failed due to problems in the booster, while Pyongyang's state media blamed the second flight's failure on a flawed third-stage emergency blasting system.
Shin weighed the possibility of Pyongyang's making a third attempt in late November to reflect technological guidance from Russia following the rare summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.
"North Korea could try again on its own even if it fails, but the launch may have been delayed as Russia provided specific technical guidance (for the satellite). We place more emphasis on the latter," Shin said during his first meeting with reporters since taking office last month.
"There is a possibility of (North Korea's satellite launch) in around late November. We will continue to monitor the situation," he added.
In response to Pyongyang's efforts to put its first spy satellite into space, Shin vowed to boost the South Korean military's surveillance capability to fend off North Korea's advancing missile and nuclear threat.
He disclosed the South Korean military's plan to launch its first indigenous reconnaissance satellite on Falcon 9, U.S. aerospace company SpaceX's two-stage rocket, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 30, as well as a plan to launch a homegrown solid propellant rocket later this year.
South Korea has condemned Pyongyang's satellite launch as a provocation and violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning its use of ballistic missile technology.
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