Kim Jong Un’s Sister Wants to ‘Slap’ Those Who Scorn North Korea’s First Spy Satellite

Kim Jong Un’s sister has issued a scathing response after critics dismissed North Korea’s first-ever spy satellite as crude.

North Korean state media released two photos of South Korea, ostensibly taken from space, to show off Pyongyang’s expanding surveillance technology. But the grainy, black-and-white images did not impress military observers, with a South Korean analyst calling it “useless” because of the low resolution.

In a lengthy report published by North Korean state media on Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong called negative assessments of the country’s satellite “dog barking” and “malicious disparaging.”

“I really want to slap these bastards who are rattling on but don’t know where to start,” said Kim Yo Jong, the only sister of leader Kim Jong Un and one of the country’s most powerful officials.

“I’m already curious what kind of slander you’ll spew when our military satellite soon carries out its mission,” she went on, referring to the country’s plan to finish testing its satellite technology by April. 

She added that the low-quality images were taken by a commercial camera because there was no point in using an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single test.

North Korea said on Monday that it successfully conducted a “final-stage test” of its first-ever spy satellite, a tool that leader Kim Jong Un has long sought after to expand his country’s surveillance capabilities. 

Edward Howell, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford’s New College whose research covers North Korea’s nuclear program, said the country carried out the satellite test now to take advantage of weakened scrutiny from the international community due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Now marks a critical moment for North Korea, as it seeks to take advantage of the UN council that’s in paralysis,” he told VICE World News. 

“North Korea knows it can get away with trying to improve its intelligence, satellite capability and missile testing, without as much scrutiny from the UN as in previous years,” he said.

Kim Yo Jong also denied accusations that the satellite launch was a cover for a missile test. In February and March, the country claimed it fired intercontinental ballistic missiles only to launch parts of a spy satellite, but the U.S. said it had actually tested its Hwasong-17 “monster” missile, which is capable of striking the continental U.S.

“If we want to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, we just fire it. We don’t use a satellite to carry out a disguised test of a long-range missile test as South Korean puppets claim to sway public opinions,” Kim said.

To those who doubted the regime’s nuclear capability, Kim warned that Pyongyang could conduct a long-distance missile test to prove itself.

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