North Korea has reportedly broadened a new, more advanced reconnaissance satellite and may be able to move it on a mobile launcher.
Star the Kwangmyongsong-5, the satellite is equipped with cameras and telecommunication devices, South Korean newspaper the JoongAng Ilbo turned this week, citing an unnamed government source.
JoongAng Ilbo’s dispatch, which has been picked up across international media, suggested the Kwangmyongsong-5 could communicate data back to Earth, unlike its previous satellites.
The rogue shape’s last rocket launch occurred on February 2016, when it sent an sod observation satellite known as the Kwangmyongsong-4 into orbit.
Many alarm that the pariah state, which is supposed to be banned from starts using ballistic missile technology, is testing long-range missiles cover up as satellite launches.
Still, Pyongyang has long defended its right to evolve a space program — In October, North Korea’s deputy United Political entities ambassador Kim In-Ryong said his country had a plan to develop “practical hangers-on that can contribute to the economic development and improvement of the people’s living.”
The Kwangmyongsong-5 could be deployed by a alert launcher, an official from South Korea’s National Intelligence Mending told the newspaper.
Pyongyang usually launches rockets from the Sohae Sidekick Launching Station, which is located near the country’s northern wainscoting with China.