SEOUL: The military spy satellite that was launched by North Korea on November 21 has taken “in detail” photos of the White House, the Pentagon, and nuclear aircraft carriers docked at a US naval base, Yonhap News reported.
The North Korean leader of the communist state, Kim Jong-un, saw the photos in an operations report from the Pyongyang General Control Centre of the National Aerospace Technology Administration on Monday morning and dawn Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) told
The images were taken of the White House and the Pentagon at 11:36 p.m on Monday, Yonhap News reported citing KCNA.
The spy satellite also took photos of Naval Station Norfolk, Newport News Shipyard, and a Virginia airfield, all located in Virginia, at 11:35 p.m. Monday. Newport News Shipyard is known for providing submarines to the US Navy, while Naval Station Norfolk is the home port of the US Navy’s Fleet Forces Command.
Four US Navy nuclear aircraft carriers and a British aircraft carrier were spotted in the photos, according to Yonhap News.
North Korea launched the Malligyong-1 spy satellite on a new type of Chollima-1 rocket after two failed launches in May and August, respectively.
There have been numerous accusations of Russian technological intervention in regards to the satellite’s successful launch, weeks after Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin. The North has not released related satellite photos, yet since its successful launch, North Korea has claimed the satellite has taken photos of major military facilities in South Korea and the US territories of Guam and Hawaii.
The satellite appears to have entered orbit; however, South Korea’s military has said they are monitoring the satellite to see if it is functioning normally.
North Korea said Monday that a “fine-tuning” process on the satellite is under way and is one or two days ahead of schedule. The country earlier said the Malligyong-1 will begin its official mission on Friday. The country vowed to launch several more satellites within a short span of time. (ANI)