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SEOUL, South Korea | North Korea aims to launch three more spy satellites in 2024, state media reported Sunday, following a five-day meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers Party of Korea.
Pyongyang in November said it had achieved its first successful placement of a reconnaissance satellite in orbit in November, following two failed attempts earlier in the year.
With diplomatic contacts with Seoul and Washington at a virtual standstill, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the strengthening of his nuclear arsenal the top policy priority for 2024 and ordered an upgrade of naval capabilities. He also called for the development of powerful armed drones and electronic warfare assets.
The bellicose rhetoric common at such meetings was in full flow: Mr. Kim characterized inter-Korean relations as “no longer those of the same peoples, but of two hostile countries in a state of war.”
“We need to swiftly respond to a possible nuclear crisis and mobilize all physical means, including nuclear force, in a bid to accelerate preparations for the great event of putting the entire territory of South Korea under our control,” he told party functionaries.
In an unusual move, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service warned Thursday of the rising risk of possible military provocations. But despite the talk, no unusual troop or equipment movements, signaling invasion preparation, have been noted.
In what is likely a reference to ties with Russia — which like North Korea, faces punishing international economic sanctions — Mr. Kim also spoke of upgrading relations with like-minded nations.
North Korea will “expand and develop the relations of strategic cooperation with the anti-imperialist independent countries and dynamically wage the anti-imperialist joint action and struggle on an international scale,” he said.
Experts believe that North Korea can supply Russia with munitions and possibly weapons, as well as labor for the rebuilding of shattered infrastructure in Russian-occupied Ukraine. In return, Russia could offer North Korea technical assistance for its weapons programs, as well as foodstuffs and fuel.
It was the news about new satellites that generated the biggest headlines in Seoul.
North Korea placed a reconnaissance satellite, the Malligyong, into orbit in November, following two failed attempts in May and August.
North Korea is believed to have received technical assistance from Russia, enabling the success of the launch, in return for munitions deliveries. Those deliveries have been monitored by the U.S., which has released images of containers moving, by ship and rail, from North Korea to a Russian military base near the Black Sea.
The fighting in Ukraine has made clear the import of reconnaissance satellite constellations for data-networked, precision weapons.
Pyongyang’s November launch was widely condemned, given that the launch vehicles used to place satellites in orbit are the same as those used for ballistic missiles. U.N. Security Council resolutions bar North Korea from owning ballistic missile technologies, a ban Pyongyang has long flouted.
However, though the North Korean satellite has been monitored in orbit, it remains unclear how effective its optics and data links are.
The North’s media has claimed the satellite has been able to keep tabs on a wide range of U.S. facilities in both the Pacific and the continental United States, but has not released any images.
Analysts and retired military officers here say provocative North Korean actions early in the new year may have unintended consequences for the South.
South Korea’s parliamentary elections are set to take place in April. Coming at roughly the midpoint of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol’s five-year, single term in office, they are widely seen as a referendum on his administration.
Any provocations from across the Demilitarized Zone are likely to strengthen Mr. Yoon’s People Power Party, which has taken a hard-line stance against the North, the analysts said.
• Andrew Salmon can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.
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