January 17, 2026Jan 17, 2026
KCNA Pyongyang Times

Leadership for development of space science

Date: 09/12/2024 | Source: Pyongyang Times | Read original version at source

On December 12 2012, the DPRK successfully launched its first application satellite Kwangmyongsong 3-2.

General Secretary Kim Jong Un acquainted himself with the space scientists who had contributed to the successful launch of the satellite on New Year’s Day in 2013 when the whole country was overflowing with joy.

There were two scientists who had devoted their whole lives to realizing Chairman Kim Jong Il’s desire to turn the DPRK into a space power.

One was a twice Labour Hero, People’s Scientist, academician, professor and PhD who trained many doctors and masters of engineering and wrote valuable technical books while working as a researcher and leading official for a long time and the other was an ordinary scientist.

After acquainting himself with them one by one, the General Secretary made sure that the ashes of the first scientist were buried at the patriotic martyrs cemetery and a certificate of socialist patriotic death was awarded to the other scientist so that the feats performed by them for the country and people could be handed down generation after generation.

Later, for the successful launch of the earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4, he visited the satellite launching ground despite the biting cold in January to guide the preparations for launching the satellite all day long and sent the autograph "Kwangmyongsong (Shining Star-Tr.)" to be inscribed on the carrier rocket.

Afterwards, he personally guided the vertical hoisting of the carrier rocket, encouraging scientists there.

As a result, the earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4 blasted off into space successfully.

The satellite was successfully launched in winter amid biting cold, which had been considered difficult, having no harmful effect on neighbouring countries. The DPRK completed the design, making and launch of it with its own efforts and technology.

Successes have been made one after another in the core space sci-tech studies under the wise leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea and last year the reconnaissance satellite “Malligyong-1” was launched.

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