North Korea slams South for spy satellite launch

SEOUL, Aug 1 (Reuters) North Korea said today South Korea's launch of a scientific satellite that can also spy on the secretive country was a provocative act that compels it to build up its ''invincible war deterrent''.

South Korea sent a satellite into orbit on Friday primarily for making geographical surveys but also possibly for tracking military movements in North Korea, which raised regional security concerns by launching missiles on July 5.

''We sound an alarm-bell to South Korea straining the situation on the Korean peninsula,'' the North's KCNA news agency quoted a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland as saying.

''The prevailing situation compels the North to step up its moves to bolster the invincible war deterrent for self-defence in every way under the banner of Songun,'' the spokesman said referring to Pyongyang's military-first policy.

South Korea's 900-kg Arirang-2 satellite, launched in Russia, can take high-resolution pictures of the earth's surface, a government agency said. Experts said it would be the country's most advanced surveillance satellite.

The Arirang-2 gives South Korea the ability to identify objects on the ground one metre in diameter, South Korea's Overseas Information Service said.

However, its capabilities pale in comparison to the array of spy satellites and surveillance planes the United States uses to keep an eye on North Korea.

US aerial reconnaissance spotted North Korea preparing a launch of its long-range Taepodong-2 missile. This led to international warnings to Pyongyang not to go ahead with the launch, with Seoul, Washington and others saying it would pose a grave danger to regional security.

North Korea defied the warnings and launched the Taepodong-2 along with six other missiles. The long-range missile, which experts said could eventually reach parts of the United States, blew up soon after launch.

South Korean military officials said the two Koreas exchanged gunfire on Monday night along the fortified border that divides them. No South Korean soldiers were injured in the first live-fire incident between the two in almost a year.

Reuters BDP GC2047