SEOUL, December 2. /TASS/. North Korea will consider the US attempts to neutralize its first reconnaissance satellite in orbit as a declaration of war and may respond with similar actions, the North Korean Central News Agency quoted a North Korean Defense Ministry spokesman as saying.
The defense official explained that the US Space Forces Command recently hinted at the possibility of a military strike on the North Korean satellite, citing "reversible and irreversible ways" of impact to "reduce the potential for the use of outer space by hostile states." The spokesman pointed out that US experts have suggested that the United States could not only physically destroy a satellite or ground station, but also resort to cyber attacks.
"The hostile and dangerous attitude of the US space forces toward the North Korean satellite cannot be ignored. This is an obvious challenge to our sovereignty and, more precisely, a declaration of war against our republic," the defense official said.
"If the US uses modern technology as a weapon and violates the rights of a sovereign state, we will exercise our legitimate rights in accordance with international and domestic norms. We will consider retaliatory measures to reduce the viability of US satellites or [their] complete elimination," the spokesman pointed out.
"If our reconnaissance satellite is regarded by the US as a 'military threat' to be eliminated, the scores of US satellites constantly roaming the skies over the Korean peninsula and monitoring our key strategic sites should also be a priority target for destruction by our armed forces," the defense official stressed.
Satellite launch
On November 21, the North Korea successfully launched its first Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite on a Chollima-1 carrier rocket. In response, the South Korea announced a partial suspension of the agreement with North Korea to reduce tensions on November 22. The measure affected the no-fly zone provision. On November 23, the North Korean Defense Ministry announced that it would no longer abide by the entire agreement and would resume the actions prohibited by the document.