Japan to launch spy satellite to keep an eye on North Korea

Japan is sufficiently frustrated with North Korea's recent space and nuclear weapon exploits that it's launching a new observation satellite into orbit that will spy on the Hermit Kingdom.

The rocket, scheduled to launch on 27 January, will launch from the Tanegashima Space Centre in the south of the country, carrying a satellite that will reportedly use radar to detect objects as small as a metre in size on the ground. It will be the second Japanese satellite in orbit with intelligence-gathering capabilities.

It will complete an observational system first proposed in the 1990s by Japan for the purpose of keeping a watch on its hostile neighbour, but it also has a peaceful purpose -- it will also be used to gather data on the regions affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan's northeast in 2011, destroying many towns and villages.

It comes in the wake of the United Nations Security Council's decision to placeeven more severe sanctions on North Korea for its decision to launch a rocket into space in December 2012. Sanctions already forbade North Korea from using any ballistic missile technology, and the new sanctions specifically target the North Korean space agency and key individuals within it. The Council also warned that "significant action" will follow if, as some suspect, North Korea carries out another nuclear bomb test in the coming weeks.

The launch of the North Korean Kwangmyŏngsŏng satellite in December, which caught many observers by surprise, meant North Korea was the tenth nation to develop the ability to carry a payload up into space. That neither Japan nor its allies managed to foresee the launch has proved a good incentive for nations like Japan to improve their spy satellite coverage.

However, while the satellite is still in space, it is thought to be "tumbling out of control", and is therefore unlikely to be providing North Korea with any useful observational data.

It's been a bad day for North Korean sports, too, as the country's reign asUnofficial Football World Champions came to an end after losing a penalty shootout to Sweden in the semifinal of the annual King's Cup friendly competition. The Unofficial World Championship is a jokey title that follows the trail of games all the way back to the first international match between England and Scotland in 1872. Just as in boxing, the "title" gets taken by any team that beats the existing champions in a recognised international match.

North Korea took the title from Japan in November 2011, and had managed 12 successful defences until today's defeat. No word on whether the national team will suffer recriminations as a result.

Source wired.co.uk