North Korea says its leader Kim Jong-il attended the launch of a rocket at the Musudan-ri site on the North’s east coast on Sunday.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Monday that Kim visited the satellite control center on Sunday and watched the launch of the Gwangmyeongseong-Two experimental communications satellite, marking the first time for the reclusive leader to make a public appearance on the day of a rocket launch. Kim did not appear in public when the communist state launched its Gwangmyeongseong-One satellite in 1998 or its Daepodong-Two missile in 2006.

According to KCNA, Kim expressed great satisfaction after watching the rocket launch, saying that it clearly demonstrates the North’s technological capabilities.