
South Korea’s military launched its third domestically developed spy satellite on Saturday, furthering efforts to build a constellation of reconnaissance satellites designed to enhance the country’s ability to closely monitor North Korea and swiftly detect signs of potential provocations.
The Defense Ministry undescored that the satellite launched Saturday is expected to enhance the military's "Kill Chain" capability, which involves preemptively striking targets by detecting signs of nuclear and missile activity.
According to the ministry, the satellite was launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 3:34 a.m. Saturday. Approximately three hours after the launch, it established communication with the ground station.
The launch also introduced the country’s second synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, satellite.
SAR satellites send radio waves to the ground, capture the reflections, and generate image data -- a process less affected by weather conditions compared to electro-optical infrared, or EO/IR, satellites.
The military aims to operate five satellites by 2025 -- one EO/IR satellite and four SAR satellites -- which together will enable monitoring activities in North Korea every two hours.
EO satellites, which capture images using visible light, offer high clarity and readability but are vulnerable to weather conditions such as cloud cover and nighttime darkness. IR satellites, on the other hand, visualize temperature differences, enabling them to generate images even during nighttime.
The military has already deployed a satellite equipped with both EO and IR sensors, which was launched in December 2023. In April this year, it also launched the first SAR satellite, currently undergoing operational trial assessments and expected to begin service by February next year.
The second SAR satellite will undergo an initial operational phase -- during which system reliability and communication capabilities will be verified -- before the satellite becomes fully operational, according to the Defense Ministry.
"This marks South Korea’s first attempt to operate multiple reconnaissance satellites in a coordinated group, and we expect it to significantly enhance image data collection opportunities,” said Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Seok Jong-gun, who is overseeing the third launch.
“It will ultimately enable the military to identify signs of North Korean provocations in a more multidimensional way by utilizing sensors tailored to specific targets.”