North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, has acknowledged this week's failed satellite launch but urged his military scientists to pursue developing space-based reconnaissance capabilities.
North Korea's Kim Jong Un Reacts to Failed Satellite Launch
In his speech at the Academy of Defense Sciences in Pyongyang on Tuesday, Kim Jong Un emphasized the importance of these capabilities in countering the military activities of the United States and South Korea. The Associated Press reported that this marks Kim's first public remarks regarding the failed satellite launch.
Kim also issued a warning of unspecified retaliatory measures against South Korea following an exercise involving 20 fighter jets near the inter-Korean border, which occurred just hours before North Korea's failed launch.
Kim denounced the South Korean response as "hysterical" and a "very dangerous provocation" that cannot be ignored. Amid escalating tensions between the two neighboring countries, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that North Korea has commenced the release of numerous balloons carrying waste toward the South since Tuesday evening.
This action is believed to be a retaliatory response to South Korean activists who have been flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border.
North Korean Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang II announced over the weekend the intention to distribute "mounds of wastepaper and filth" across border areas and other regions of South Korea. This action is described as a "tit-for-tat" response to the leafletting activities conducted by South Korean activists.
Kim visited the Academy of Defense Sciences a day after a rocket carrying North Korea's second military reconnaissance satellite exploded shortly after liftoff.
The country's aerospace technology administration noted that the explosion might have been linked to the reliability of a newly developed rocket engine fuelled by liquid oxygen and petroleum.
Pedestrians walk under a large video screen showing images of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news update in Tokyo on October 4, 2022, after North Korea launched a missile early in the day which prompted an evacuation alert when it flew over northeastern Japan. (Photo : RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
Retrieving North Korean Balloons Amid Rising Tensions
As of Wednesday, the South Korean military reported the discovery of over 150 North Korean balloons scattered across various regions of the country. Military rapid response and explosive clearance teams are currently retrieving these balloons.
Civilians are strongly advised against touching any objects from North Korea and immediately report to the military or police if they find them. There have been no immediate reports of damage resulting from the balloons. However, in 2016, similar activities involving North Korean balloons damaged cars and other properties.
Tensions between North and South Korea have escalated significantly in recent years, with South Korea increasing the frequency of military demonstrations and joint exercises with the US and Japan since 2022.
The unsuccessful satellite launch is a blow to Kim's ambitions to deploy three additional military spy satellites this year. This setback comes after North Korea successfully placed its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit last November, following two previous failed attempts.
