North Korea has assessed the botched launch of a military reconnaissance satellite last month as the most serious defect in the first half of this year, pledging a successful launch in the near future.

North Korea’s state-run news outlets, including the Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency, reported on Monday that a plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party was held for three days through Sunday, led by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The reports said that officials evaluated the advancement of North Korea’s military power, which it said was aimed at strengthening self-defense and has imposed an insurmountable security crisis on “the U.S. imperialists and South Korean puppets.”

However, they reportedly pointed out that there were “shortcomings that cannot be ignored,” citing the failure of the May 31 launch, which it called a crucial strategic project in space development, as the most serious one.

The outlets said criticisms were leveled against those responsible for the launch during the meeting while an order was given to thoroughly analyze the cause of the failure and successfully put a satellite into orbit soon to further the regime’s reconnaissance and intelligence ability.

[Photo : YONHAP News]