The DPRK announced a successful launch of a Kwangmyongsong-4 Earth observation satellite into space aboard a Kwangmyongsong rocket, which Seoul sees as a long-range ballistic missile.
The rocket lifted off from the Xichang launch centre in Sichuan province
The Kwangmyongsong was estimated to weigh around 200 kilograms, two-fold the weight of its predecessor Kwangmyongsong-3 that was launched by the DPRK in December 2012 into orbit.
The spy agency believed that the newly launched rocket didn’t go through an experiment of atmospheric re-entry, a prerequisite for developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
But, the DPRK seemed to have advanced ICBM technologies on rocket stage separation and guided control given the flight time, stage separations and drop zones of the separated stages.
Whether the satellite works normally will take a couple of days to determine, according to the NIS. The rocket’s key components were estimated to have been imported mostly from Russia. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
