SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean military said Wednesday it had recovered the remains of a North Korean spy satellite that sank at sea in May after a failed launch and found it did not have a significant military use as a reconnaissance satellite.
Last month, the military also recovered parts of the rocket used in the failed launch; the booster and payload crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff.
«After a detailed analysis of the main parts of the North Korean space launch vehicle and satellite that were salvaged, South Korean and US experts have assessed that they had no military utility as a reconnaissance satellite,» the military said in a statement. release.
The South Korean military said it ended rescue operations on Wednesday, which began immediately after debris fell off South Korea’s west coast on May 31. Aircraft, the navy and deep-sea divers participated in the effort.
It is the first time that South Korea has secured a satellite launched by the North, South Korean military experts have said.
Initial assessment indicated that the team’s reconnaissance ability was poor in terms of target resolution and tracking, said Lee Choon-geun, an expert with the South Korea Institute for Science and Technology Policy.
Yang Uk, a fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, also said that «the resolution of the optical device loaded onto the satellite was not suitable for military use.»
The South Korean military tracked the launch of the spacecraft and identified a large cylindrical piece of debris in the water within hours of launch, but the object sank to the seabed.
It was recovered two weeks later.
Last month, North Korea made a rare and candid public admission of the failed launch, saying it was the «most serious failure» but vowing to soon succeed in its orbital search.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has followed a satellite launch program since the 1990s and has said it will launch its first reconnaissance satellite to better track US military activities.
In 2012 and 2016, North Korea launched objects that are still in orbit. Pyongyang said they were observation satellites, but there has been no confirmation that they are working or transmitting signals.
The May 31 launch was widely condemned by South Korea, Japan and the West as a violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit the North’s use of ballistic missile technology.
Pyongyang rejects such criticism as a violation of its sovereign right to self-defense and space exploration.
In a key political speech in January 2021, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to develop military reconnaissance satellites. In recent months, Pyongyang appears to have upgraded its Sohae satellite launch station, possibly for another try.
At a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party in June, North Korea blamed the failure on loss of thrust in the second-stage engine and criticized «irresponsible» preparations by officials and engineers involved.