Pyongyang says military satellite key to countering US 'space militarization'
Iran Press TV
Tuesday, 10 October 2023 7:36 AM
The surveillance satellite program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is an "indispensable" measure to counter US "space militarization," North Korean news agency KCNA on Tuesday.
In an article published on KCNA, Ri Song Jin, a researcher of the National Aerospace Technology Administration, said Washington is seeking greater military hegemony in Asia by expanding its space force, referring to a recent visit of the US Space Force commander to Japan's Tokyo, and the deployment of a Space Force component in South Korea.
Such actions were "nothing but a camouflaged curtain to cover up the scenario for a preemptive attack on the anti-US and independent countries," the article, titled "US space force deployment aimed at preemptive aggression war," said, mentioning North Korea, China, and Russia.
"Now that the US is getting hell-bent on space militarization with a preemptive nuclear attack as its ultimate target by massively introducing space force into the Korean peninsula and its vicinity," Ri said, "space development, including a military reconnaissance satellite, is an indispensable strategic option for guaranteeing the security interests and right to existence of the DPRK."
The article comes as the DPRK vowed to try to place a surveillance satellite in orbit this month after its first two attempts failed.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to help Pyongyang build satellites during a visit of the DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un to Russia.
In 2019, former US president Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to establish the Space Force - the first new US military branch in 72 years - calling for his country's "dominance in space."
Russia has also expressed concern about the growing militarization of space by the United States and its allies, warning that such hostile measures should be counterbalanced.
Moscow has warned that the implementation of US military plans in space could trigger a new era of arms race in the outer space of the earth.
China has also slammed the US for promoting "space militarization with a Cold War mentality."
US aircraft carrier to arrive in South Korea Thursday
Meanwhile, South Korea's defense ministry announced on Tuesday that the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is expected to arrive in the South Korean city of Busan on Thursday.
According to the ministry, the carrier will remain in the East Asian country until October 16.
The carrier took part in last year's joint drills between the US and South Korea for the first time since 2017 in a show of strength.
South Korea, the US, and Japan just concluded a two-day joint maritime drills in waters near South Korea's Jeju Island on Tuesday.
Pyongyang views the military exercises as a rehearsal for invasion.
Pyongyang maintains that it will not tolerate persisting US-led war games in the area, underlining that it will continue responding to the joint military maneuvers by holding its own drills as well as developing and testing all sorts of weaponry, including missiles that could reach as far as the US mainland.
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