South Korea shouts 'double standard' of US for letting Kim Jong launch his spy satellite from there

Accusing the US of applying double standards, North Korea blasted the US on Monday for permitting rival South Korea to launch a spy satellite from US soil while denouncing the North’s previous satellite launch.

From California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, South Korea launched its first spy satellite manufactured domestically into space last Friday. That followed North Korea’s November 21 launch of its own military spy satellite into orbit for the first time.

In contrast to the South Korean launch, Washington, Seoul, and their allies swiftly and strongly condemned North Korea for violating UN Security Council resolutions with its satellite liftoff. The international community sees any launch by North Korea that employs ballistic technology as a pretext for testing its missile technology.

North Korea maintains it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles in the face of what it calls US-led military threats.

It is a space-level tragicomedy that the US, going frantic with illegal denunciation and sanctions moves over the exercise of (North Korea’s) sovereignty, has shown behaviour based on double standards by launching a spy satellite of (South Korea) in a shameless manner, an unidentified spokesperson for the North’s National Aerospace Technology Administration said in a statement.

The statement said if the gangster-like logic of the US is connived and tolerated, global peace and stability will be exposed to an irrevocable grave danger.

North Korea has said its spy satellite transmitted imagery with space views of key sites in the US and South Korea, including the White House and the Pentagon. But it hasn’t yet released any of those satellite photos. Many outside experts question whether it can send militarily useful high-resolution imagery.

North Korea has said it’ll launch additional spy satellites to better monitor its rivals’ moves and enhance the precision-guided strike capability of its missiles.

South Korea also plans to launch four more spy satellites by 2025 under a contract with SpaceX. The establishment of its own space-based surveillance network would ease its dependence on US spy satellites to monitor strategic facilities in North Korea. Experts say launching a satellite aboard a SpaceX rocket is more economical and that South Korea also needs more tests to ensure the reliability of a launch rocket.

Earlier on Monday, South Korea conducted a third test flight for a solid-fuel rocket near its southern Jeju island, according to the South’s Defence Ministry. A ministry statement said the launch was successful and put a civilian commercial satellite into orbit.

Solid-fuel rockets require shorter launch times and cheaper development and manufacturing costs than liquid-fuel rockets. Experts say solid-fuel rockets are used to launch smaller spy satellite because they have weaker thrust force than similar-sized liquid-fuel rockets. They say the development of solid-fuel rockets can help improve South Korea’s missile technology as well.

After the North Korean satellite launch, South Korea said it would resume frontline aerial surveillance in response. South Korea said North Korea reacted by restoring border guard posts. Both North and South Korean steps would breach their earlier agreement to ease military tensions along their border.

The North Korean satellite liftoff followed two earlier launch failures. South Korea suspects North Korea likely received Russian technical assistance for a satellite launch program as part of expanding cooperation between the two nations, both locked in separate confrontations with the United States.

(with inputs from The Associated Press)