SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea could conduct another spy satellite launch at the end of August or early September, a South Korean lawmaker said on Thursday, citing the country’s intelligence agency.
The reclusive state’s first military satellite launch in May ended in failure but North Korea has vowed to put another satellite into orbit soon.
Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the South Korean parliament, told reporters after meeting the chief of the country’s intelligence agency that if North Korea managed to fix defects, there was a chance it would launch the satellite to celebrate the country’s founding anniversary on Sept. 9.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made it a priority to conduct a launch during the second half of this year.
North Korea is also preparing for military actions including launching an intercontinental ballistic missile to protest against the upcoming three-way summit between the United States, South Korea and Japan, and against joint U.S.-South Korea drills, Yoo added.
U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a summit at Camp David on Friday with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
