South Koreans cheer launch of first satellite
Follows the north’s much criticized similar achievement
SEOUL, South Korea • South Korea launched a satellite into space from its own soil for the first time Wednesday amid increased tensions after archrival North Korea accomplished a similar feat and was condemned by the United Nations.
The South Korean rocket blasted off from a launch pad in the southwestern coastal village of Goheung. Science officials told cheering spectators minutes later that the rocket delivered an observational satellite into orbit. Officials said Thursday the satellite was operating as intended.
The launch is a culmination of years of efforts by South Korea — Asia’s fourth-largest economy — to advance its space program and cement its standing as a technology powerhouse whose semiconductors, smartphones and automobiles command global demand. North Korea’s longrange rocket program, in contrast, has generated international fears that it is getting closer to developing nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S.
South Korea’s success comes amid increased tension on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea’s threat to explode its third nuclear device. Pyongyang is angry over tough new international sanctions over its Dec. 12 rocket launch and has accused its rivals of applying double standards toward the two Koreas’ space programs.
Washington and Seoul have called North Korea’s rocket launch a cover for a test of Pyongyang’s banned ballistic missile technology.
North Korea recently acknowledged that its longrange rockets have both scientific and military uses, and Kong Chang-duk, a professor of rocket science at South Korea’s Chosun University, said the same argument could apply to the South.
Seoul may eventually be able “to build better missiles and scrutinize North Korea with a better satellite,” Kong said. “... There are dual purposes in space technology.”
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. had observed the “successful” satellite launch.
She said there was no basis for comparing the South and the North’s rocket programs. Unlike the North, the South has developed its technology responsibly and is an active participant in international non-proliferation agreements, showing its program has no military intent, she said.
“The North should not see it as a threat because they too can enjoy the same transparency with regard to the program that the rest of us have, which is a far cry from how the DPRK behaves,” Nuland told reporters. DPRK stands for the formal name for North Korea.