North Korea launched a spy satellite in spite of warnings from the United States and its allies. South Korea took steps on Wednesday to suspend a provision of a military agreement it entered into with Pyongyang in 2018 subsequent to the North’s spy satellite’s launch.
Tuesday marked the launch of North Korea’s inaugural spy satellite into orbit, and the country has promised to place more in the near future. State media in North Korea published photographs purporting to show leader Kim Jong Un observing the launch of a rocket from a base.
Upon initial notification of the launch, South Korea and Japan were unable to ascertain the satellite’s orbit. The Pentagon stated that the United States military was still evaluating the success of the launch.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, on a state visit to Britain, approved suspending part of the inter-Korean agreement. Yoon previously led a video-linked National Security Council meeting with ministers and the intelligence chief.
Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed the Comprehensive Military Agreement at a summit in 2018 to de-escalate tensions between the rivals.
The South Korean Ministry of Defense announced at 3 p.m. (0600 GMT) that it was suspending a clause in the agreement and resuming aerial surveillance near the shared border.
According to North Korea’s KCNA state news agency, the Malligyong-1 satellite launched on a Chollima-1 rocket from the Sohae satellite launch facility at 10:42 p.m. (1342 GMT) and entered orbit at 10:54 on Tuesday.
The United States, Japan, and South Korea all had destroyers equipped with Aegis systems in position to track the launch vehicle and exchange intelligence.
FNN, a Japanese broadcaster, reported that a test of information sharing on the launch of Tuesday was unsuccessful due to technical issues.
In response to North Korea’s missile threat, the three nations have increased their military collaboration.