Category: North Korea

That is what some Korea analysts now believe after she received a new title as “Morning Star General”:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, seated right, and his daughter Ju-ae, seated left, visit North Korea’s Air Force Command on Nov. 30. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un referred to his daughter as “Morning Star General,” just days after the North’s reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, successfully entered orbit on Nov. 21.

The young girl, known as Ju-ae, was previously referred to by North Korea’s state-controlled media as “dear child” or “respected child.”

The dramatic change in the way she is addressed has fueled speculation on whether the new title could be interpreted as a confirmation of her status as the North’s heir apparent.

Cheong Seong-chang, a research fellow at Sejong Institute, took the title change seriously, arguing that it is an important move related to leadership succession.

“I think it’s definitely associated with the fourth-generation leadership succession,” he told The Korea Times. “Kim made it clear that his daughter will succeed him by referring to her as ‘Morning Star General.'”

In North Korea, the term “morning star” has been used figuratively to refer to a leader in waiting.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This would be a provocative action by the U.S. Space Force if they did try and disable North Korea’s supposed spy satellite because it would set a precedent for other countries to take action on U.S. satellites as well:

North Korea lashed out at the United States on Saturday after a U.S. space official hinted at possible disabling of the North’s military spy satellite launched last week, saying that it will take it as “a declaration of war” against the regime.

A spokesperson of the North’s defense ministry issued the statement after Sheryll Klinkel, a strategic communicator at the U.S. Space Command, told a media program in reference to the North’s spy satellite that “a variety of reversible and irreversible means” can be employed to “deny” an adversary’s space and counterspace capabilities. 

Appearing on the Radio Free Asia earlier this week, Klinkel also said that joint force space operations can reduce the effectiveness and lethality of adversary forces across all domains. 

“The U.S. Space Force’s deplorable hostility toward the DPRK’s reconnaissance satellite can never be overlooked as it is just a challenge to the sovereignty of the DPRK, and more exactly, a declaration war against it,” read the English-language statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is what I have been saying, that North Korea’s claims of having all this amazing imagery of U.S. military installations is likely just propaganda unless the Russians went and built them their own satellite:

But South Korean military officials are voicing doubts about the satellite’s reconnaissance capabilities.

“Compared to previous attempts, it seems that the new satellite achieved its own technological progress to some extent,” a military official said.

“The North claims that it photographed U.S. aircraft carriers and naval bases in Hawaii just 10 hours after the launch. That is not impossible, but a proper operation of a military satellite requires months of testing, verification and correction. Given this, (the recent KCNA news reports) appear to be propaganda.”

The official said that the military had analyzed the debris of a satellite that the North failed to put in orbit in May, and it had limited operational capabilities and provided very poor resolution images. “It is highly questionable whether North Korea addressed these limitations in a short period,” the official added.

Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank, assumed that the satellite would be an entry-level optical one, based on KCNA’s description.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The North Koreans are gloating about their supposed spy satellite, but the fact they haven’t shown any photos leads me to believe it either doesn’t work or the technology is very old:

North Korea claimed Saturday its leader Kim Jong-un observed photos taken by the country’s recently launched military spy satellite of “major target regions” in South Korea, where U.S. Army bases are located, and parts of Hawaii.

Kim visited the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) on Friday to “learn about the operational preparation of the reconnaissance satellite” and looked at the aerospace photos, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Not happy with their successful satellite launch, the North Koreans apparently decided to increase tensions further by firing a ballistic missile that failed:

A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows the test firing of a new solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at an undisclosed location in North Korea, April 13. Yonhap

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea, but the launch appears to have failed, the South Korean military said Thursday.

The North fired the missile from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 11:05 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

It did not provide other details, adding that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are conducting an analysis into the launch.

The latest launch came after South Korea suspended part of the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement in response to the North’s latest launch of a military spy satellite.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The South Korean military has confirmed that the North Koreans did put a satellite into space, they just don’t know yet if it actually is transmitting anything:

This photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency shows the launch of a rocket carrying a spy satellite, Malligyong-1, at Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, North Korea, Tuesday. Yonhap

North Korea’s military spy satellite appears to have entered into orbit, but more time would be needed to determine if it is operating properly, Seoul’s military said Wednesday.

The North launched the Malligyong-1 satellite from the country’s west coast late Tuesday in its third attempt this year, claiming it has successfully entered into orbit.

“After a comprehensive analysis of its flight track data and other signs, the satellite is assessed to have entered into orbit,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a text message sent to reporters.

“However, determining whether the satellite is working properly will take time as additional analysis is required under coordination between South Korea and the United States and relevant agencies.”

Yonhap

In response to the satellite launch the ROK announced that it is suspending part of the 2018 Inter-Korean Military Pact they have with North Korea:

Seoul on Wednesday partially suspended an inter-Korean military agreement designed to ease tensions and decided to resume surveillance operations along the border with North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s launch of a spy satellite. The South Korean government said it was a “necessary measure” for self-defense.

At an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said North Korea’s latest provocation ― and violation of the agreement ― shows it has no intention to comply with it.

“A partial suspension of the agreement is a necessary measure for national security and the minimum action for self-defense,” he said after endorsing the proposal. It was subsequently approved in less than an hour by President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to Britain.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but there are a few good reasons why the ROK has not completely scrapped the Inter-Korean Military Pact..

It looks like the Russian assistance has paid off with the North Koreans apparently successfully placing a satellite into orbit:

North Korea said Wednesday it has successfully placed a spy satellite into orbit and will launch several more satellites “in a short span of time” to step up its surveillance capability on South Korea. 

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the North launched a reconnaissance satellite called Malligyong-1 on a Chollima-1 rocket from a launch site in Tongchang-ri on the country’s west coast at 10:42 p.m. Tuesday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the launch at the site and congratulated officials, scientists and technicians associated with the launch preparations, according to KCNA.

“The carrier rocket ‘Chollima-1’ flew normally along the preset flight track and accurately put the reconnaissance satellite ‘Malligyong-1’ on its orbit at 22:54:13, 705s after the launch,” KCNA said in an English-language report.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but according to the Joong Ang Ilbo the rocket did fly on the typical southern trajectory that North Korea has used in the past for rocket launches. A J-Alert was issued in Japan’s Okinawan islands, but was lifted after the rocket passed over the islands.

Bloomberg News takes a crack at explaining why Kim Jong-un’s daughter has been used to heavily in state propaganda over the past year:

The role of Kim’s daughter in state propaganda appears to be showing the public there is another generation waiting to run the family dynasty forged in the Cold War and it will rely on nuclear weapons for its survival. She humanizes Kim as a father, with the possible intent of conveying a message to North Korean parents that supporting an arms program means protecting their children from a U.S. invasion and a loss of the “unique” socialist state forged by the Kim family.

“The preservation of the Kim family rule is, of course, inextricably tied to the country’s weapons program,” said Soo Kim, a former Korea analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, who now works at U.S.-based management consulting firm LMI. 

She added while the intent may be to soften the image of Kim Jong Un, that could be a hard sell. “The North Korean people are still starving and living under Draconian repression – missiles or not. And unless Kim takes dramatic steps to improve the living conditions of his people and give them true freedom, their perceptions of Kim are unlikely to change fundamentally.”

But that has not stopped North Korea from using the daughter for political purposes. She has appeared 16 times in public over the past year — with 13 of the events related to the military, two for sports and one for the economy, according to information from the South Korean government.

Bloomberg

You can read more at the link.

Since the North Koreans will probably try and launch their rocket on a southern trajectory is will likely pass over Japan’s southern Ryuku Islands thus the reason for the notification:

North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch a space rocket between Wednesday and Dec. 1, Reuters reported Monday, as the recalcitrant regime is preparing for what would be its third attempt to put a military spy satellite into orbit.

The North apprised Japan’s Coast Guard of the planned launch in the direction of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, according to Reuters. 

South Korea has said Pyongyang may go ahead with the launch as early as “this week or so,” while urging the regime to “immediately” stop the launch preparations.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will see if the third time is the charm for the North Koreans to get rocket to work, this time with Russian assistance:

 North Korea may launch its military spy satellite as early as “within a week or so,” South Korea’s defense minister said Sunday, citing intelligence of the North’s preparations.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said the launch could take place before South Korea launches its first indigenous reconnaissance satellite on Falcon 9, U.S. aerospace company SpaceX’s two-stage rocket, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 30.

“South Korea and the United States are monitoring North Korea’s movements. North Korea’s preparations are under way for a launch to take place within a week or so,” Shin said in an interview aired on public broadcaster KBS earlier in the day.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.