DPRK says that spy satellite starts reconnaissance mission in December
The DPRK's "spy satellite" will begin operations in December (Photo: GettyImages)
North Korea announced that its military reconnaissance satellite, launched recently, will initiate its mission in December, according to Kyodo.
South Korea has confirmed that North Korea (DPRK) has launched a satellite into orbit, but it has not yet been determined whether it is working properly.
In addition, the DPRK state media stated that Kim Jong-un has already viewed the first aerial photos of U.S. military bases in Guam, allegedly sent by the satellite.
The North Korean leader noted that the country's armed forces have "eyes that look at a very long distance."
DPRK's unsuccessful attempts to launch a spy satellite into orbit
At the end of May this year, the DPRK tried to launch a "spy satellite" Malligyong-1 into orbit, but the launch vehicle lost its train and fell into the Yellow Sea.
Later, on June 16, South Korea recovered several parts of the rocket and satellite from the seabed. After analyzing the found parts, experts said that the "satellite" was not useful as a reconnaissance satellite at all.
The DPRK made a second attempt to launch the satellite on August 23. Tokyo said that Pyongyang used banned ballistic missile technology and that the projectile flew through the airspace near Okinawa.
And on November 22, North Korea announced the successful launch of a ballistic missile with a spy satellite on board.
