LOC10:57
07:57 GMT
TOKYO, Dec 19 (KUNA) -- North Korea said on Monday that it has conducted an "important final-stage test for the development of a reconnaissance satellite" the previous day, with an eye to complete preparations for the launch by next April, state media reported.
The North's National Aerospace Development Administration conducted the test at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri on Sunday "mainly aimed to evaluate the capabilities of satellite photography and data transmission system and ground control system," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
An unnamed spokesperson at the administration was quoted as saying that a vehicle carrying a mock satellite was fired at the loft angle of 500 km. "This is an important success which has gone through the final gateway process of the launch of reconnaissance satellite," the spokesman said, adding the country will "finish the preparations for the first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023."
The announcement came after South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Sunday it detected the launches of two medium-range ballistic missiles from North Korea's Tongchang-ri areas into the East Sea (the Sea of Japan).
The missiles, fired at steep angles, flew some 500 km, the JCS said, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency. The North launched Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missiles in February and March, claiming they were test-launches of spy satellites. Pyongyang is banned from developing ballistic missiles under a series of UN Security Council sanctions. (end)
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