Asia-Pacific

S. Korea: Pyongyang May Launch Third Military Reconnaissance Satellite by Nov. 30

AP file photo
The South Korean flag is seen with the North Korean flag in the background at the border between the two counties in Paju, South Korea, in August 2021.

By Takayuki Nakagawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

12:57 JST, November 20, 2023

SEOUL — South Korean National Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said Sunday that North Korea may launch its third military reconnaissance satellite by the end of this month.

Shin told a KBS television program that the United States and South Korea are jointly monitoring Pyongyang’s preparations for a satellite launch.

“I suspect [North Korea] will launch a satellite within a week, or by Nov. 30 at the latest,” he said.

Shin provided no details, but said, “It would take a week” to put a rocket on the launch pad and inject liquid fuel at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri, northwestern North Korea.