North Korea Test Fires Rocket for ‘Satellite’ as Ukraine Heats Up

(Bloomberg) -- North Korea said it conducted an “important” test for a reconnaissance satellite over the weekend, launching its first rocket with ballistic missile capability in a month as global attention is focused on Ukraine.

Its official Korean Central News Agency said Monday the launch that took place a day earlier helped test high-definition photography and data-transmission systems and attitude control devices. State media released photos showing the Korean Peninsula from space it said were taken from the satellite. 

North Korea has long said it's entitled under international law to have a civilian space program but the U.S. and others have accused Pyongyang of using a satellite program as a cover to bolster its ballistic missiles for the military. 

South Korea's military said its neighbor to the north fired what appeared to be a single ballistic missile at 7:52 a.m. on Sunday from an area near Pyongyang's main airport toward waters off its east coast. It reached an apogee of about 620 kilometers (385 miles) and had a range of about 300 km. 

The launch ramped up tensions as global attention is focused on Ukraine and renewed concern about Pyongyang's atomic ambitions while the Biden administration faces one of its greatest challenges in managing the global response to the Russian invasion of its neighbor.

“Usually, a crisis presents an opportunity for Kim,” said Soo Kim, a policy analyst with the Rand Corp. who previously worked at the Central Intelligence Agency. “He knows it will be difficult for the U.S. to give full attention to the North Korea issue right now –- and this is an advantage for him.” 

Kim Jong Un's regime last tested a ballistic missile on Jan. 30, firing an intermediate-range rocket for the first time since 2017 that culminated its biggest monthly series of rocket tests since he took power a decade ago. State media released photos of that launch it said were taken of the Earth “by a camera installed at the missile warhead.” 

Pyongyang then held off on missile tests while its neighbor and biggest benefactor, China, hosted the Beijing Olympics.

Kim has shown no interest in the Biden administration's call for him to return to nuclear disarmament talks, now stalled for about three years. So far the U.S. hasn't acceded to North Korea's demands that it ease up on sanctions choking its economy.

The latest test of a reconnaissance satellite for military purposes was an item of weapons and programs the North Korean leader outlined as priorities in January 2021, just days before Joe Biden was inaugurated as president. Other items on that list that Kim has already tested included hypersonic missile systems designed to use high speed and maneuverability to deliver a warhead that can evade U.S-operate interceptors.

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