SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday accused the United States of 鈥済angster-like鈥 hypocrisy for criticizing her country鈥檚 failed launch of a military spy satellite and insisted a successful launch will be made soon.
Kim Yo Jong said North Korea鈥檚 efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities were a legitimate exercise of its sovereign right and restated the country鈥檚 rejection of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban it from conducting any launch involving ballistic missile technology.
Her comments on state media came a day after the rocket carrying the satellite failed. North Korea said the rocket lost thrust after a stage separation and crashed in waters off the Korean Peninsula鈥檚 western coast.
Washington, South Korea and Japan had quickly criticized the launch. Adam Hodge, a spokesperson at the U.S. 好色tv Security Council, said Washington strongly condemns the North Korean launch because it used banned ballistic missile technology, raised tensions and risked destabilizing security in the region and beyond.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on the failed launch Friday afternoon at the request of Japan, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Albania, Ecuador and Malta.
In her statement, Kim Yo Jong briefly mentioned Hodge鈥檚 comments before saying the United States 鈥渋s letting loose a hackneyed gibberish prompted by its brigandish and abnormal thinking.鈥
鈥淚f the DPRK鈥檚 satellite launch should be particularly censured, the U.S. and all other countries, which have already launched thousands of satellites, should be denounced. This is nothing but sophism of self-contradiction,鈥 she said, using the initials of North Korea鈥檚 formal name, the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea.
She noted how the United States closely monitors the North through its own reconnaissance satellites and other aerial assets, calling the Americans a 鈥済roup of gangsters鈥 who would deem it as 鈥渋llegal and threatening鈥 had North Korea attempted to send a satellite into space by balloon.
鈥淭he far-fetched logic that only the DPRK should not be allowed to do so according to the (U.N. Security Council鈥檚) 鈥榬esolution鈥 which bans the use of ballistic rocket technology irrespective of its purpose, though other countries are doing so, is clearly a gangster-like and wrong one of seriously violating the DPRK鈥檚 right to use space and illegally oppressing it,鈥 she said.
鈥淚t is certain that the DPRK鈥檚 military reconnaissance satellite will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future and start its mission,鈥 she added.
Citing what she described as U.S. hostility toward the North, Kim reiterated that Pyongyang has no intent to reengage in negotiations with Washington, which have stalemated since 2019 because of disagreements over crippling U.S.-led sanctions imposed over the North鈥檚 nuclear weapons and missiles program.
Wednesday鈥檚 launch extended a provocative run in North Korean military demonstrations, including the test-firings of around 100 missiles since the start of 2022 that underscored Kim Jong Un鈥檚 attempts to acquire dual ability to conduct nuclear strikes on both the U.S. mainland and South Korea.
Wednesday鈥檚 failed launch raised , where residents in some areas were briefly urged to take shelter shortly after the launch. South Korea鈥檚 military later said it was salvaging an object presumed to be part of the North Korean rocket. Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of South Korea鈥檚 Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing Thursday that the country鈥檚 navy has mobilized more vessels and aircraft in search of additional debris to recover and analyze. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials are closely monitoring North Korea over possible launch preparations but it wasn't immediately clear whether the North would attempt another launch within the stated June 11 launch window.
The International Maritime Organization鈥檚 maritime safety committee adopted a rare resolution Wednesday denouncing North Korea for conducting launches without proper notification, which have 鈥渟eriously threatened the safety of seafarers and international shipping.鈥
Japan鈥檚 coast guard, which coordinates and distributes navigational warnings in the region, although such warnings should be made no less than five days in advance. The IMO said it 鈥渦rgently calls upon (North Korea) to cease unlawful and unannounced ballistic missile launches across international shipping lanes.鈥
A military spy satellite is one of several high-tech weapons systems that Kim has publicly vowed to develop to bolster his nuclear deterrent in the face of U.S. sanctions and pressure. Other weapons on his wish list include a multi-warhead missile, a nuclear submarine, a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile and a hypersonic missile.
While North Korea with past long-range missile and rocket tests has shown it can put satellites in space, it鈥檚 less clear whether its technology has advanced enough to meet its
The two Earth-observation satellites it placed in orbit in 2012 and 2016 never transmitted imagery back to North Korea, foreign experts say. And analysts say the new device displayed recently in state media appeared too small and crudely designed to process and transfer high-resolution imagery.
The U.N. Security Council imposed economic sanctions on North Korea over its previous satellite and ballistic missile launches, but it has failed to punish the North over its recent tests. The council鈥檚 permanent members China and Russia have continuously rejected U.S.-led efforts to toughen sanctions on Pyongyang, underscoring a divide deepened over Russia鈥檚 war on Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg strongly condemned the launch using ballistic missile technology.
鈥淭his blatantly violates several U.N. Security Council resolutions. It is a threat to neighbors and a challenge to global stability,鈥 he said Thursday at a news conference in Oslo, Norway. 鈥淭his launch raises tensions and poses risks to regional security and beyond.鈥
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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Oslo, Norway, contributed to this report.
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