South Korea launches second spy satellite into orbit

SEOUL, April 8 (UPI) -- South Korea successfully placed its second military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, Seoul's military said Monday, a move that will heighten surveillance capabilities against North Korea amid a growing space race on the peninsula.

The launch took place on Sunday evening at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which was Monday morning in Seoul, South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a press release.

The satellite was carried on a Falcon 9 rocket operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX and successfully entered orbit around 45 minutes after launch. It later succeeded in communicating with a ground station, the ministry said.

In addition to increased surveillance capacity, the satellite will enhance South Korea's "Kill Chain" system, the ministry added. The Kill Chain is part of a three-pronged deterrence strategy that calls for preemptive strikes against the North's missiles -- and possibly its leadership -- in the event of a potential attack.

Monday's launch marked the second of five military reconnaissance satellites that Seoul has contracted with SpaceX to place into orbit by 2025. South Korea launched its first satellite from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Dec. 1, less than two weeks after North Korea placed its own inaugural spy satellite into orbit.

The new satellite is equipped with synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, which can capture images at night and under any weather conditions, defense officials said.

"With the success of this launch, our military has further strengthened its space-based surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities," South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said after viewing a live stream of the launch at ministry headquarters. "Now, even in bad weather, it has become possible to monitor the whole of North Korea clearly and precisely."

North Korea announced plans last week to launch several more spy satellites of its own this year, amid concerns over its growing military relationship with Russia.

Washington and its allies say that Pyongyang is shipping artillery and equipment to Russia for its war in Ukraine, while the North is believed to be receiving advanced technology for its space and missile programs in return.

Shin said that the South's satellite technology is far superior to that of the North and promised that upcoming launches will further widen the gap in the space race.

"By next year, we plan to launch a follow-up military reconnaissance satellite and an ultra-small satellite that is currently under development," he said. "We will have an overwhelming intelligence superiority that cannot be compared with North Korea."