A Russian military expert says that North Korea almost completed the development of two satellites and is expected to launch them in the near future.

The Russian newspaper Rossiyskaia Gazeta reported on Friday that Vladimir Khrustalev made the remark after returning from his week-long trip to North Korea in mid-November.

Khrustalev reportedly said that he met with representatives of the North's National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) on November 19, who explained the North's space vehicle program.

The NADA officials reportedly said that they have almost completed their plan for this year, which is to develop an Earth remote exploration-satellite and a communications satellite.

The exploration satellite reportedly weighs “over 100 kilograms” and has a scanning resolution of several meters, while the communications satellite weighs over one ton.

The Russian expert said that the claims by the North Korean officials are likely to be true in light of the North's recent advances in rocket engine technology and its latest successful launch of a ballistic missile.

He said that North Korea is likely to launch the satellites soon although it did not mention specific dates.

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