After that, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter visited aerospace facilities
Since December 2, the General State Administration for Aerospace Engineering of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been exercising full control over the recently launched Mulligan-1 reconnaissance satellite. For this purpose, the "management cabinet" (also known as the "separate military information organization"), developed by the Pyongyang Center for General Control and Regulation, is used. Information from the satellite is transmitted to the Permanent Executive Department of the Central Military Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, as well as to the command of the Korean People's Army (KPA) and other departments. This is stated in the message of the state news agency KCNA.
The launch vehicle (PH) "Chollima-1" launched on November 21. After launching into space, Mulligan-1 performed a number of orbit correction maneuvers, tested on-board systems and payload. In particular, on November 25, the first photographs of Pentagon facilities in the United States and South Korea were taken. According to the KCNA news agency, the satellite transmitted to earth its "images of important targets on enemy territory." The lens caught military installations in Gangneung, Busan, Pohang, Pyeongtaek, Daegu and Ulsan (all in the southern part of the Korean peninsula), as well as naval bases Pearl Harbor and Hikam in the Pacific Ocean. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Carl Vinson was also photographed, which entered the parking lot at the port of Busan.
The images turned out to be so clear that the North Korean authorities dubbed the new satellite a "powerful precious sword" aimed at the United States and its allies.
Similar epithets were not used for the spacecraft (spacecraft) of the previous family "Kwangmensong" ("Bright Star"), which represented the previous generation of North Korean artificial Earth satellites.
The first Kwangmenson spacecraft was launched in 1998, and the second one a decade later. They did not greatly bother the Pentagon, where they mistook the "Bright Star" for a propaganda project of the DPRK leadership. This was followed by the launches of 2012 and 2016, but even these, according to American observers, turned out to be only partially successful. Official Russian structures presented the situation differently. According to their assessment, starting in February 2016, the Kwangmyongson-4 satellite performed the functions of sounding the Earth's surface, which confirms the successful nature of the implementation of the North Korean space program.
The second stage of its development opened with the practical use of a bunch of PH "Chollima-1" and spacecraft "Mulligan-1". Technically, both products represent the next step in the development of national space technologies. Indirectly, this is confirmed by the fact of two consecutive visits by the head of the DPRK to the space center in Pyongyang.
General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (CPC) Kim Jong-un carefully examined the images received from Mulligan-1 and expressed his full satisfaction with the development of events. As a sign of appreciation, he took pictures with scientists and technical specialists of the center, and urged them to further expand the "capabilities of aerospace exploration" by launching new spacecraft.
The North Korean leader called Mulligan-1 a "guardian of space" and a means of monitoring military threats and the activity of hostile forces.
By developing space programs, the DPRK is exercising its right to self-defense. "As a result of the successful launch of the Mulligan-1 reconnaissance satellite, a completely new stage has opened in the activities of the KPA," said North Korean Prime Minister Kim Dok Hoon. "The armed forces of our country, which have the ability to strike around the world, have strengthened their power and have truly become the strongest in the world."
The achievements of North Korea in the south of the peninsula were viewed in a completely different way. The government in Seoul announced the suspension of the September 2018 military agreement, which imposed restrictions on reconnaissance aircraft flights in border areas, and other measures to increase mutual trust.
The US Special Representative to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described the Mulligan-1 flight as an "irresponsible and illegal action" threatening other countries. Using the flight as a pretext, Washington imposed additional sanctions against companies and individuals both inside and outside the DPRK for their contribution to the development of the North Korean space program and assistance to the DPRK in its attempts to circumvent previously imposed sanctions.
In short, the first reaction of Washington and its allies in Asia to Mulligan-1 represented "strict condemnation" and the presentation of the relevant program as a violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. However, in response, Pyongyang only promised to launch even more satellites in the future, since efforts to explore outer space are presented to it as legitimate actions in self-defense.
At the same time, Thomas-Greenfield Linda repeated an earlier proposal made on behalf of the administration of President Joseph Biden to resume dialogue without preconditions, giving Pyongyang a choice of venue and topics for discussion. Washington has once again called on Pyongyang to comply with the demands of the international community regarding nuclear and missile technologies. In response, it was said that the DPRK does not recognize any international restrictions in relation to its space activities.
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Yo-jong has rejected Washington's call for a return to diplomacy. Speaking to local media, she said literally the following: "The sovereignty of an independent state will never be a subject for negotiation; the DPRK will never have a face-to-face conversation with the United States for such a purpose. Instead, we will continue our efforts to develop everything that runs along the line of sovereign rights. We will continue to enjoy these very sovereign rights – all those enjoyed by all other UN member states. And we will do it in a dignified manner, without any restrictions today and in the future."
It would not be superfluous to briefly tell you what Kim Ye Jung is like. The younger sister of the current North Korean leader (6 years younger), the daughter of the previous supreme leader Kim Jong Il (the youngest of his seven children) and the granddaughter of the founder and Eternal President of the DPRK Kim Il Sung. As a teenager, she studied in Switzerland for five years. Upon returning to her homeland in 2000, she continued her education at the military university, and then took up computer science. In 2020, Kim Yo Jong made a statement on her own behalf for the first time: in response to South Korea's displeasure over military exercises in the DPRK, she compared the leadership of a neighboring country to a "scared barking dog."
Since 2021, he has been Deputy Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Central Committee of the CPC (and in fact directs it). Western sources claim that in recent years, Kim Yo Jong has been acting as the "right hand man" of the North Korean leader. Today, she is the most influential woman in the DPRK, and has a high chance of holding the highest state post in the future. A hard-line supporter, Kim Yo Jong, threatened Biden himself, threatening him with war if the White House did not change its rhetoric towards the DPRK. During her September trip to Russia, she accompanied her brother, including when visiting the Vostochny cosmodrome, and was among those invited to a gala dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Anyway, when visiting the space center in Pyongyang, as well as at the celebrations on the occasion of Aviation Day celebrated in the DPRK on November 30, Kim Jong-un preferred the company of his daughter Kim Ju-ye to his sister. In the absence of open data on the place and time of birth, the child's age is estimated to be 10-12 years old. Kim Ju-ae had previously accompanied Kim Jong-un, including on a trip to the test site where the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile was tested.
Photos distributed through official channels on December 1 captured Kim and his daughter in long leather coats at one of the airfields of the KPA 1st Aviation Division.
The chairman of the TPC came to the airbase to personally congratulate the flight and technical staff on the holiday, watch fighter flights and watch a volleyball match (the Air Force team defeated the naval colleagues with a score of 3:0). "When Comrade Kim Jong-un arrived at the flight center with his beloved child, the air was filled with enthusiastic applause from all the pilots and Air Force personnel, overwhelmed with excitement and joy," KCNA said in a statement.
Together they walked along the line of the guard of honor, and then accepted bouquets of flowers from the hands of the pilots. At the control center located at the airfield, Kim Gwang Hyuk, Commander of the KPA Air Force, gave explanations on the methods of informatization of the operational control and control system. He also made a report on the location of enemy forces and his own operational plans.
On the same day, together with Marshal Park Jong-cheon and Vice Marshal Lee Yong-gil, the chairman of the CPC arrived at the KPA Air Force headquarters. There, the North Korean leader gave valuable instructions to the personnel on the topic of increasing combat readiness and "maximizing our capabilities to wage war." He noted that even the technical superiority of the enemy cannot compensate for the ideological steadfastness and motivation of the KPA military personnel. "The outcome of the struggle is determined not by the characteristics of the weapon, but by what ideas and for what purpose they are fighting," Kim said. He noted that even "enemies boasting of technical advantages cannot surpass the ideological and political advantages of our pilots," the KCNA news agency informs.
The Chairman of the CPC outlined the party's policy in the field of operations and tactics. It is being built in such a way as to "repel any military provocation from the enemy side immediately and decisively," the state news agency explained. According to Kim himself, the KPA Air Force is "fully ready to perform air combat tasks in any situation, including unfavorable ones."
The North Korean leader called on the armed forces loyal to him to be ready to respond to any provocation from the enemies. Highly appreciating the process of informatization and modernization of the aerospace control system, Kim indicated that such efforts should be continued. For this purpose, he outlined "tactical and operational areas of work" to increase the combat readiness of the KPA.
On the evening of November 30, the North Korean House of Culture hosted a performance by the KPA Air Force Song and Dance Ensemble, and in the evening a reception was held with the invitation of pilots and their commanders.
Vyacheslav Ivanov
Vyacheslav Viktorovich Ivanov is a military expert and historian.