South Korea vowed Thursday to respond firmly if North Korea goes ahead with a launch of a military spy satellite that could further raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap News Agency reported.

“Our government will respond firmly to North Korea’s provocations by cooperating with the international community,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk was quoted as saying at a press briefing in Seoul.

Lim underlined that the launch of the satellite would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting any launches involving ballistic missile technology, adding that the North’s planned launch of the satellite is “clearly an illegal action that threatens regional peace and security.” On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the satellite is “ready for loading” on a rocket and approved of a “future action plan” without elaborating on a specific date, Pyongyang’s state media Korean Central News Agency reported.

Kim also stressed that the successful launch of the satellite is an “urgent requirement” under the prevailing security environment and a process of “bolstering up the defense capabilities on a top priority basis.” The development of reconnaissance satellites was one of the key weapons projects announced by Kim during a ruling party meeting in January 2021.

Last December, the North said it had conducted an “important final-stage” test at its rocket launching facility for the development of its first reconnaissance satellite.

Source: Kuwait News Agency