North Korea begins spy satellite operations after warning US

The office, which is located at the Pyongyang General Control Center of the North's National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA), began its mission on December 2 and will report its findings to the military's reconnaissance office and other key units, KCNA said.

Earlier, North Korea announced that it had successfully launched its first military spy satellite on November 21. A few days later, North Korea announced that the new spy satellite had taken pictures of the White House, the Pentagon, US military bases and "target areas" in South Korea.

However, Pyongyang has so far not released any images taken by the new satellite, leaving analysts and foreign governments debating the satellite's true capabilities, according to Reuters.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches the launch of a rocket carrying the Malligyong-1 spy satellite at a location believed to be North Kyungsang Province, in this photo obtained by Reuters on November 21.

In a separate article published by KCNA today, an unnamed North Korean military commentator said South Korea was responsible for breaking the inter-Korean military confidence-building agreement.

In response to North Korea’s November 21 satellite launch, South Korea last week partially suspended the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement. In response, North Korea announced that it would restore all military measures suspended under the agreement. Following that announcement, South Korea discovered that North Koreans were rebuilding guard posts and repositioning troops and heavy weapons in the inter-Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ), according to Yonhap.

The article also argued that the recent launch of South Korea's first military spy satellite demonstrated Seoul's self-contradiction.

On December 1, a Falcon 9 rocket from the US company SpaceX launched South Korea's first spy satellite into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to Reuters. South Korea has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch a total of five spy satellites by 2025 in an effort to accelerate its goal of 24-hour surveillance of the Korean Peninsula.

Following South Korea's satellite launch, KCNA on December 2 quoted a statement from a North Korean Defense Ministry spokesman, saying Pyongyang would respond to any US interference in space by disabling US spy satellites.

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