South Korea says ‘Russian support enabled North Korea to launch satellite’

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in September. File pic/AP

South Korea has concluded that Russian support likely enabled North Korea to put a spy satellite into orbit for the first time this week, and will know whether it is functioning properly by early next week, officials said Thursday. The launch has deepened regional animosities, with both Koreas threatening to breach a past reconciliation deal and taking hostile actions along their heavily armed border.

After two launch failures earlier this year, North Korea said it successfully placed its "Malligyong-1" satellite into orbit on Tuesday night. South Korea's military has confirmed that the satellite entered orbit, but said it needs several more days to verify whether it is working properly.

In a closed-door briefing, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday that Russian assistance was likely the main reason the launch was successful, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik told a separate parliamentary committee meeting Thursday that Russia appears to have been providing technological assistance for North Korea's satellite program. The same satellite and rocket were used in all three launches. The two earlier attempts in May and August failed due to technical problems with the rocket.

Two
No of launch failures early this year

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