[1/2] People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing what it called a space satellite toward the south, in Seoul, South Korea, May 31, 2023.
"After detailed analysis on major parts of North Korea's space launch vehicle and satellite which were salvaged, South Korean and U.S. experts have assessed that they had no military utility as a reconnaissance satellite at all," the military said in a statement.
It is the first time South Korea has secured a satellite launched by the North, South Korean military experts said.
The nuclear-armed North has pursued a satellite launch programme since the 1990s and has said it would launch its first reconnaissance satellite to boost monitoring of U.S. military activities.
In a key policy address in January 2021, North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, pledged to develop military reconnaissance satellites.
Persons:
Kim Hong, Lee Choon, Yang Uk, Kim Jong Un, Hyonhee Shin, Jack Kim, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle
Organizations:
REUTERS, South, Aircraft, South Korea's Science, Technology Policy, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Workers, Party, Thomson
Locations:
North Korea, Seoul, South Korea, Korean, SEOUL, North, U.S, Korea, South Korean, Pyongyang, Japan