North Korea on Monday said it would continue to exercise its sovereign rights, including through satellite launches. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the launch of a reconnaissance satellite last week was prompted by the need to monitor the United States and its allies, state media KCNA has reported.
“It is a legal and just way to exercise its right to defend itself and thoroughly respond to and precisely monitor the serious military action by the U.S. and its followers,” the KCNA report said.
North Korea launched the satellite on Tuesday, saying it successfully entered orbit and was transmitting photographs, however, South Korean defence officials and analysts said its capabilities have not been independently verified.
After the launch, South Korea suspended a key clause in a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement and resumed aerial surveillance near the border. North Korea in turn declared it was no longer bound by the agreement and would deploy weapons on the border with the South.
North Korean soldiers had been observed bringing back heavy weapons into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border and setting up guard posts that the two countries demolished in the wake of the de-escalation agreement, Yonhap News reported citing South Korean military officials.
