JCS says North's spy satellite had 'no military utility'

The military spy satellite launched by North Korea in May had “no military utility,” Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said as they revealed Wednesday that the South Korean military had concluded its mission to retrieve wreckage from the launch.

Wreckage from North Korea's failed spy satellite launch is shown to the press at the headquarters of the Korean Navy's Second Fleet on June 16. [YONHAP]

The military spy satellite launched by North Korea in May had “no military utility,” Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said as they revealed Wednesday that the South Korean military had concluded its mission to retrieve wreckage from the failed launch.

The announcement by the JCS marks the end of the 36-day operation to salvage debris from the North’s Malligyong-1 satellite and Chollima-1 space launch vehicle (SLV), which crashed into the Yellow Sea shortly after takeoff.

The JCS said that the South Korean Navy retrieved key parts of both the SLV and the satellite through the maritime salvage operation, which ran from May 31 through Wednesday but did not specify when the satellite was discovered and brought to land for analysis.

The SLV wreckage, believed to be the second stage of the three-stage Chollima-1, was salvaged on June 16.

Analysis of the wreckage was conducted jointly by South Korean military research institutions, including the Agency for Defense Development, and the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Intelligence Agency, among other U.S. government agencies.

“The main components of the North Korean space launch vehicle and satellite were salvaged through the operation and underwent a thorough analysis by South Korean and U.S. experts,” the JCS said in a statement.

“They have concluded [the retrieved satellite] had absolutely no military utility as a reconnaissance satellite.”

The JCS did not specify the reasons why the agencies concluded the satellite had no military utility.

The command also did not divulge whether the South Korean military had retrieved a camera or other kinds of optical equipment from the satellite wreckage, nor did it release any photos of the salvaged parts.

A South Korean military official last month told reporters on condition of anonymity that full disclosure of the information gathered from the salvage operation could help North Korea.

North Korea attempted to launch the spy satellite on May 31 from its Sohae satellite launching site in Tongchang-ri, North Pyongan Province, but the SLV failed due to a botched engine ignition during second-stage separation, according to Pyongyang’s state media.

The debris fell into the Yellow Sea approximately 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of Eocheong Island, located 70 kilometers off the North Jeolla coast.

At a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party last month, North Korea’s leadership blamed “irresponsible” officials for the failed launch and called it the regime’s “most serious” shortcoming this year, the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

While the KCNA did not specify the timing of the next satellite launch attempt, it made clear the North would not abandon its ambition to develop a space reconnaissance system that could enable the regime to better monitor its foes.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]