North Korea’s Spy Satellite Shows Signs of Life

North Korea’s spy satellite is “alive,” defying skeptics who believed the device was space debris, a Netherlands-based space expert says.

The satellite was tracked “jumping” to a higher orbit several times last month, showing North Korea can keep it from re-entering the atmosphere and extend its life, though its other capabilities are currently unknown.

North Korea said the Malligyong-1 spacecraft was operating successfully after two previous failed attempts at putting surveillance satellites in orbit. The country heralded the feat as a win that allows it to keep tabs on the “military intention and moves of hostile forces.”

Pyongyang said its satellite has been snapping photos of the White House and Pentagon, though it has not made any of this imagery public.

As recently as Monday, South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik cast doubt on the Malligyong-1’s capabilities, saying: “It shows no signs of functioning and is merely orbiting without activity.”

Yet on February 19, the satellite had performed the first of a series of perigee burns, rising to a higher orbit, Marco Langbroek, aerospace engineering professor at Delft University, wrote in a blog, citing data from a satellite tracking station in Leiden, the Netherlands.

An object’s perigee is the point in its orbit when it is closest to the earth.

“The perigee-raising maneuver shows that North Korea has control over the satellite, and it also means they can prolong its orbital lifetime by periodic orbit raises,” Langbroek said in a blog post.

“The orbit raising maneuver comes a bit as a surprise, as the presence of an onboard propulsion system is unexpected. The previous two North Korean satellites never maneuvered,” Langbroek wrote.

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Space Command outside of business hours.

Washington and Seoul condemned the launch of the spacecraft as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions meant to curb Pyongyang’s ballistic missile program.

Pyongyang, which has since pledged to put three more surveillance satellites in orbit by the end of 2024, has said it is exercising its right to self-defense.

The North Korean embassy in China did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

The launch and its aftermath further strained relations between the neighbors, which despite a 1953 armistice, have never officially declared an end to the Korean War.

The South responded in protest by partially suspending a landmark North-South military agreement, pledging to resume patrols along the demarcation line between the countries. The North then countered by abandoning the 2018 pact entirely and announcing it was redeploying its own forces to the area.

North Korea touted the Malligyong-1 as a major step for its fledgling space industry, and the country’s national stamp issuer has published stamps depicting the launch as Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un looks on.