Shortly ago, staff reporter Yang Ryon Hui had an interview with Kim Yong Chol, official of the National Aerospace Technology Administration.

Q: In November last year, our country successfully launched the reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1. Please tell me about the trend of the development of reconnaissance satellites around the world.

A: First, it is to develop high-performance spy satellites small in size, light in weight and low in production cost.

For example, with rapid development of microelectronic and microelectromechanical technologies and nanotechnology in recent years, the focus of satellite technology research is placed on the development of micro-satellite. When compared with conventional ones, a micro-satellite has the advantages of short manufacturing cycle, fast launching speed, quick manoeuvring, low cost, and high performance and functional density.

Second, efforts are being directed to forming a constellation of spy satellites capable of photographing the target areas irrespective of weather and seasonal conditions.

Many countries are now vying with each other to establish large and super-large medium- and low-orbit constellations.

Third, they also try to launch commercial satellites on a large scale in a bid to use satellite images for the reconnaissance purpose.

Q: How many satellites are being launched around the world every year?

A: In 2023, the successful launches of satellites and space vehicles numbered 207 (over 140 in 2022). As of January 2024, more than 11 540 satellites are possessed by different countries and organizations around the world.

According to applications submitted to the International Telecommunication Union, an organization allocating satellite orbital resources to each country, one million satellites will be launched in the future with a view to comprising over 300 super-large constellations of satellites.

The universe is the wealth common to mankind. Vast and endless outer space has neither border lines nor boundaries which exist on the Earth, and any country is entitled to explore and use outer space.

Q: Please tell me about the country’s efforts for space exploration.

A: Our country has adopted the Law of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Space Exploration. It aims at establishing a strict system and order in space exploration so as to contribute to developing the country’s science, technology and economy, improving the people’s living standards and strengthening the nation’s defence capabilities. It makes it a principle to defend the sovereignty and interests of the country, build up the self-supporting economy and bolster up the self-reliant defence capabilities in space exploration.

Our country buckled down to space exploration in the 1980s. Since the launch of satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2 on December 12, 2012, its space programme has entered a practical stage.

On April 1, 2013, the National Aerospace Development Administration of the DPRK (what is now the National Aerospace Technology Administration) was founded to guide and manage the space programme of the country in a unified way, and a long-term plan was worked out and issued to this end.

The reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1 loaded on a new-type carrier-rocket Chollima-1 entered its orbit on November 21, 2023, and it is now under normal operation.

Q: These achievements are unthinkable apart from the material and technological foundations of the space sector, I think.

A: You’re right. Our country has all the material and technological foundations needed for the development and use of space resources such as research on and manufacture of space vehicles and their launch and control, and dissemination of satellite images. And the foundations are being steadily built up thanks to the constant interest and investment of the state.

There are faculties related to space science at Kim Il Sung University, Kim Chaek University of Technology, Pyongyang University of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sciences and other major universities in the country, which train young talented students every year to render great services to the qualitative and quantitative growth of the ranks of space scientists and technicians.

A space science and technology symposium takes place annually and a dynamic drive makes headway to further strengthen the independence and Juche character of the space industry.

A five-year plan for national aerospace exploration set forth at the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in January 2021 is now under way.

Space exploration in our country is being conducted more vigorously under the unified guidance of the state.