Explainer | North Korea set to launch 1st military spy satellite in June: What you should know

North Korea on Tuesday confirmed that it will launch a spy satellite by June 1. The country has said that the reconnaissance satellite is needed to monitor the military movements of the US and its allies in real-time.

The launch has spurred concerns from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, which assert that this move by the country would transgress UN sanctions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made designing such a satellite the top military priority for his government. He has personally examined it, approving its future launch.

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The North's state Korean Central News Agency cited Ri Pyong Chol, vice-chairman of the ruling party's central military commission, as saying the "military reconnaissance satellite No. 1" would be "launched in June".

The statement said that the satellite, along with "various reconnaissance means due to be newly tested, are indispensable to tracking, monitoring... and coping with in advance in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal forces."

North Korea informs Japan of its plan to launch satellite

North Korea, on Monday, informed Japan of its plan to launch what it calls a 'satellite' between May 31 and June 11, said a Japanese coast guard official.

As per the Japanese officials, the launch is set to involve a ballistic projectile, according to a tweet from the prime minister's office, that alludes to a "ballistic missile that it (Pyongyang) describes as a satellite."

Analysts believe that North Korea is launching its military 'satellite' in an attempt to improve its surveillance technology and advance its ability to strike targets whenever a conflict occurs.

In a tweet, the Japanese prime minister's office said that PM Fumio Kishida has issued instructions "on North Korea's notification about the launch of a ballistic missile that it describes as a satellite".

He further urged North Korea to abstain and said he would work closely with allies.

"We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from launching," the prime minister's office said on Twitter, adding it would cooperate "with relevant countries such as the USand South Korea".

Japan puts missile defences on alert

After North Korea notified Japan of its plan to launch the satellite, it put its ballistic missile defences on alert and also vowed to knock down any missile that threatens its territory.

"We will take destructive measures against ballistic and other missiles that are confirmed to land in our territory," Japan's defence ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that the soldiers would be authorised to use Standard Missile SM-3 and Patriot Missile PAC-3 to destroy the missile in mid-air.

"Even if it's described as a satellite, a launch using ballistic missile technology would be a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and a serious problem that threatens the safety of people," PM Kishida told reporters.

South Korea, US 'closely monitoring' situation

On Tuesday, South Korea's military released a statement saying that it was closely working with USintelligence authorities for “a possible provocation” from North Korea’s satellite launch.

North Korea will launch its first military reconnaissance satellite in June to monitorUSmilitary activities, its state media reported on Tuesday.

“South Korea and the USintelligence authorities are closely monitoring related movements in close cooperation and monitoring a possible provocation of the so-called satellites claimed by North Korea,” said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Han Sung-Keun, during a regular news briefing at the defence ministry.

Launch to be a crucial element in advancing the country's nuclear programme: Analysts

According to analysts, North Korea's first spy satellite, which it announced it will launch in June, will be a critical component in expanding the country's nuclear programme.

“If there is no military reconnaissance satellite, it is like operating a missile without sight. It (the satellite launch) is very essential and very important to operate nuclear missiles," Reuters quoted Hong Min, a senior fellow at the South's Korea Institute for National Unification, as saying.

"(North Korea) is expected to participate in Hangzhou Asian Games hosted by China in September, so they are trying to strengthen nuclear forces in their own ways until the first half of the year," Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies said on the timing of the launch.

North Korea banned from using ballistic projectile technology by UN sanctions

A barge of UN sanctions has banned North Korea from using any projectile technology, which also includes Kim Jong Un's administration to "not conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology".

Pyongyang, which regularly defies these regulations describing them as a breach of its liberation, has test-fired multiple intercontinental ballistic projectiles already this year.

Though the country never gives an advance warning of its missile tests, as per experts, since the country considers itself a law-abiding global power, it has chosen to informinternational authorities of planned satellite launches.

The issue is that the technology used for both satellite launches and ICBMs is "essentially the same," AFP quoted Choi Gi-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University, as saying.

Is this Pyongyang's first satellite launch?

According to the experts, North Korea does not have a functional satellite in space.

Pyongyang has launched five satellites since 1998, out of which, three failed immediately and two appeared to have been positioned into orbit.

Though, signals from the ones into orbit have never been independently detected, which indicates a possibility of those being in a non-functional state.

"Satellites launched by North Korea in the past were effectively ICBM tests disguised as normal satellites," An Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP.

"The upcoming launch is being advertised by Pyongyang as a state-of-the-art satellite," he said, adding it showed the North was eager to enter "the so-called 'military space era' before Seoul does".

Is this a race between the South and North?

Seoul's defence ministry told AFP that South Korea is yet to develop a satellite "specifically and solely for military purposes".

In response, "Kim Jong Un has likely increased pressure on his scientists and engineers to launch a North Korean spy satellite," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told AFP.

It is doubtful North Korea "has the remote sensing technologies for a proper reconnaissance satellite. However, even a rudimentary eye in the sky could have military uses and would offer domestic political value for the Kim regime".

Will the launch be successful?

"North Korea is known to have failed a number of times," AFP quoted Choi of Sangji University as saying about ICBM's re-entry into the atmosphere.

However, "it is rumoured there was a transfer of know-how from Russia and China to the North, though it is not officially confirmed," he said.

"Even a failed satellite launch, like in 2016, shows North Korea's capability and intentions to develop longer-range ballistic missiles", the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said at the time.

"It is an attempt by Pyongyang to show it has the capability to keep Seoul's nuclear deterrent in check with a spy satellite. They are sending this message: 'We can see you through and strike anytime.'"

(With inputs from agencies)

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