hankyoreh

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter

The second Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite, launched on Dec. 12 on North Korea’s Eunha-3 rocket, was confirmed to be orbiting Earth as of the following day.

But the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said it would take some time to determine if it is functioning properly and communicating back to North Korea.

Speaking at a Dec. 13 briefing, ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok confirmed that NORAD data showed the Kwangmyongsong-3 following an elliptical orbit around the Earth at a speed of 7.66 km/second, or 95.4 minutes per orbit.

“As to whether it’s functioning properly, we’re going to have to wait and see,” he added.

Kim went on to say that no communications with North Korea had yet come from the Kwangmyongsong-3.

“But we do anticipate some frequencies will emerge,” he added. “Under these conditions, we’ll view it as a success if it remains in orbit for about two weeks.”

After observing the figures, Korea Aerospace University professor Chang Young-keun concluded that the satellite did not achieve a precise 500km circular orbit.

“At its closest, it’s 494.85 km from Earth, at its farthest 588.13km,” Chang explained. “It’s supposed to correct to 500 km, and it looks like it doesn’t have the thruster to do that.”

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Dec. 12 that a signal was received at a command post indicating that the third stage rocket and satellite had separated.

“The ‘Song of General Kim Il-sung’ and ‘Song of General Kim Jong-il’ are currently ringing out from the second Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite,” the report said.

While no data were released for the satellite, experts believe it to be more or less identical to the first Kwangmyongsong-3, which crashed just after its April launch. North Korea announced that that satellite weighed 100kg and would pass in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500km, with a lifespan of two years.

North Korea also said the satellite would be used to gather basic data for forest resource distribution, weather forecasting, and resource exploration.

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