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North Korea hails development of new spy satellite, but analysts say it is ‘useless’
- Rocket carrying test satellite was launched on Sunday to assess its photography and data transmission systems, state media said
- One analyst said it was too early to judge if launch was a success, and suggested the test may have been a cover to launch ballistic missiles
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North Korea on Monday said it fulfilled an “important final-stage test” in its pursuit to develop the country’s first spy satellite, a new weapon that analysts said was too crude for what Pyongyang aimed to accomplish.
In an apparent bid to show off its growing space surveillance capabilities, North Korean state media released low-resolution, black-and-white photos showing a view from space of two South Korean cities, including the capital Seoul, presumably from the new experimental satellite.
The rocket carrying the test satellite was launched on Sunday to assess its photography and data transmission systems, state media said.
It called the results “an important success which has gone through the final gateway process of the launch of a reconnaissance satellite”, with testing to be completed by April.
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It said the cameras on the experimental satellite had an imaging resolution of 20 metres, which analysts say pales in comparison to US spy satellites which can read a car number plate from space.
“This level of imaging resolution is too crude to be used for any purpose, not to mention surveillance purposes,” Lee Il-woo, an analyst at the think tank Korea Defence Network told This Week in Asia. “It’s simply useless.”
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Lee also suggested the satellite launch may have been a cover to again test two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
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