South Korea launches spy satellite, increasing surveillance of North Korea

South Korea will launch its second domestically-made military spy satellite from a US space center on April 8, as the country seeks to boost its independent monitoring capabilities on North Korea.

The satellite is scheduled to lift off from the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, at 7:17 p.m. local time on April 7 (6:17 a.m. April 8 Vietnam time), on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

This is the second military satellite launched under South Korea's plan to have five medium- and large-sized spy satellites by 2025 to more effectively monitor North Korea.

South Korea's first spy satellite - equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors to capture detailed images of the Earth's surface - was launched into orbit from a US Space Force base in California on a SpaceX rocket in December last year.

The satellite has been sending back high-resolution images of North Korea and is expected to enter its full mission phase in early June.

The next satellite will be equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor to collect microwave data and will be capable of collecting data regardless of weather conditions. The remaining three satellites will also be equipped with SAR sensors.

In addition to these five satellites, South Korean defense agencies are said to be working to acquire about 50-60 small and micro-sized reconnaissance satellites by 2030, which are expected to provide data on the Korean Peninsula every 30 minutes, or faster.

The latest launch comes as North Korea seeks to acquire space reconnaissance capabilities.