North Korea launches its first military reconnaissance satellite

North Korea has completed the construction of its first military reconnaissance satellite and has given the go-ahead for its launch: this was announced by the leader himself, Kim Jong Un, as reported by state media quoted by Ansa. The news comes about a week after Pyongyang launched a new solid-fuel ICBM, which marked an important step forward in the country's military programmes. Kim gave instructions to "ensure that military reconnaissance satellite No. 1, completed in April, is launched on the scheduled date," the official Korean Central News Agency reported. During a visit to North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration, Kim also called on staff yesterday to "firmly establish satellite intelligence gathering capability by deploying several reconnaissance satellites on different orbits in succession." The development of a military reconnaissance satellite was one of the key defense projects outlined by the North Korean leader in 2021.