A Japanese newspaper has reported that North Korea’s first spy satellite, launched in November, is flying in a normal orbit over South Korea and Japan, repeatedly increasing its altitude.
   
The Yomiuri Shimbun issued the report on Monday citing the analysis of U.S. military data by a Japanese space engineering expert.
 
The anonymous Japanese expert reportedly analyzed the information of the North Korean reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1 registered by the U.S. military on the satellite tracking website Space-Track since November last year.

The expert reportedly said that the altitude of the satellite sharply increased at least five times in late February.  

The average altitude of the satellite was 502 kilometers immediately after its launch in November, but the altitude gradually decreased due to air resistance in space before rising again this year. As the elevation increased in late February, the average altitude rose by about four kilometers, returning to almost the same altitude as immediately after it was launched.

The Japanese expert said that the altitude changed sharply in a short period of time, which indicates signals were sent from the ground to adjust the elevation. 

Multiple Japanese government officials reportedly agreed on the analysis, saying that the satellite appears to be under the control of North Korea.