Japan Launches Spy Satellites over Korean Peninsula

Japan has launched two spy satellites for around-the-clock intelligence operations over the Korean Peninsula.

The Japanese Space Development Agency said on Mar. 28 that it has successfully launched two intelligence satellites into the orbit from its space centers in Gagoshima and Daneshima at 10:25 a.m. using rocket booster H2A.

The satellites, circling some 400 to 600km above the sea level, will monitor missile launching stations and nuclear facilities in North Korea, and North Korean vessels operating near its sea.

Japan, which had mostly been dependent on intelligence information collected by U.S. commercial satellites, began developing its own satellites after North Korea test-fired Dapodong Missile in 1998.

It launched two different types of satellites – one is equipped with an optical sensor identifying objects on the ground within 1-meter distance, and the other equipped with synthetic radar capable of shooting pictures in bad weather.

˝The optical sensor-installed satellite even tells the difference between passenger cars and trucks,˝ said an official from the agency. ˝We plan to launch two more spy satellite in August this year.˝

Meantime, Pyongyang earlier condemned the launch plan on March 18 as ˝a hostile act against this country and a serious threat.˝

parkwj@donga.com