Defense Minister Condemns N. Korea's Failed Spy Satellite Launch

Defense minister Lee Jong-sup condemned North Korea's failed second launch of a military spy satellite on Thursday as a grave violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a clear provocation against peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and abroad.
At a parliamentary committee session on Friday, Lee said the North's nuclear and missile programs are the greatest threat currently in existence to national security.
The minister said the military is elevating its combined defense posture with the U.S. through the application of scenarios on the North's advanced nuclear and missile capabilities and the reinforcement of crisis management during the allies' ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield(UFS) exercise.
Lee assessed that the launch was likely an attempt by Pyongyang to showcase an achievement by Kim Jong-un to make up for the failed first attempt in May.
He suggested that the North conducted the launch earlier than expected as a demonstration of its will to respond to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and their enhanced coordination with Japan.
He said Seoul and Washington are working together to analyze the details of the North's claimed space launch vehicle, as well as to salvage the debris from Thursday's projectile from the Yellow Sea.
[Photo : YONHAP News]