North Korea has announced plans to launch a spy satellite in April after conducting the “final phase” of development testing.
The rogue nation’s National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) conducted a test at its Sohae launch site in the northwest on Sunday to examine its satellite imaging, data transmission and ground control systems.
A vehicle carrying a mock satellite was fired at the “lofted angle” of 500km (311 miles), the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"We confirmed important technical indicators such as camera operating technology in the space environment, data processing and transmission ability of the communication devices, tracking and control accuracy of the ground control system," a NADA spokesperson said.
North Korean officials called the test a "final gateway process of launching a reconnaissance satellite", which will be completed by April.
KCNA also released two black-and-white, low-resolution images of the South Korean capital Seoul and nearby port city of Incheon. Both photos were taken during Sunday’s launch, officials said.
It comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised the test of a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" for a new strategic weapon, a development that could allow him to possess a more mobile, harder-to-detect arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the mainland US.
The "static firing test" of a missile engine at the country’s northwest rocket launch facility was the first of its kind in North Korea.
The KCNA said that the test provided “a guarantee for the development of another newtype strategic weapon system”.
Mr Kim praised scientists and technicians over the test, saying he expected the new weapon would be built “in the shortest span of time”.
Experts say North Korea is probably referring to a solid-fuelled ICBM, which is among an array of hi-tech weapons systems that Mr Kim vowed to introduce during a Workers’ Party conference last year.
Other weapons systems Mr Kim promised to manufacture include a multi-warhead missile and underwater-launched nuclear missiles.
