North Korean leader’s sister vows 2nd attempt to launch spy satellite, slams UN meeting

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North Korean Leader’s Sister Promises Second Spy Satellite Launch, Criticizes UN Meeting

On Sunday, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, expressed her determination to make a second attempt at launching a spy satellite while condemning a U.N. Security Council meeting regarding the failure of the North’s initial launch. The first endeavor to place a military spy satellite into orbit resulted in a rocket crash off the western coast of the Korean Peninsula. At the request of the United States, Japan, and other nations, an emergency meeting was convened to address the launch, which violated council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from using ballistic technology.

Kim Yo Jong, a senior ruling party official, referred to the U.N. council as “a political appendage” of the United States, stating that the meeting had been called in response to an American “gangster-like request.” She criticized the council for being “discriminative and rude,” pointing out that it only raises concerns about North Korea’s satellite launches while thousands of satellites from other countries are already operating in space. She argued that her country’s pursuit of a spy satellite is a legitimate response to military threats posed by the United States and its allies.

Kim Yo Jong declared, “North Korea will continue to take proactive measures to exercise all the lawful rights of a sovereign state, including launching a military reconnaissance satellite,” in a statement reported by state media. In a previous statement on Friday, she expressed confidence that the North’s spy satellite would be successfully placed in orbit “in the near future,” without specifying a date for the second launch attempt.

According to South Korea’s spy agency, if the defects are not serious, North Korea may attempt a second launch soon, although it will likely take “more than several weeks” for them to determine the cause of the failed launch. A military surveillance satellite is one of the advanced weapons systems that Kim Jong Un has pledged to acquire amid prolonged security tensions with the United States. Since the beginning of 2022, Kim has conducted over 100 missile tests, which he described as a warning against the expanded military exercises conducted by the U.S. and South Korea.

Experts believe that Kim aims to leverage his modernized arsenal of weapons to secure concessions from Washington and its partners in future diplomatic negotiations. North Korea has faced multiple rounds of U.N. sanctions due to its past nuclear and missile tests, as well as satellite launches. However, the U.N. Security Council failed to strengthen these sanctions in response to North Korea’s recent testing activities due to opposition from China and Russia, both permanent members of the council. During the most recent U.N. council session, China and Russia clashed with the U.S. over the North’s failed launch. In 2012 and 2016, North Korea successfully placed Earth-observation satellites into orbit, but there is no evidence that these satellites transmitted imagery or other data, according to foreign experts.

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