The Arirang-2 satellite

South Korea’s Arirang-2 satellite launched in July this year failed to take any pictures of North Korea at the time the reclusive country said it conducted a nuclear test, it emerged. The satellite launched on July 28 cost W266.3 billion (US$1=W955) and equipped with a precision camera capable of identifying a car on a bridge on the Han River is designed to serve military purposes.

Uri Party lawmaker Kang Sung-jong said Sunday in a press release the government would have been able to observe North Korea’s nuclear test site with the help of the Arirang-2 satellite but did not take a single picture of North Korea between Oct. 3, when the North announced its test plan, and Oct. 9, when it went ahead.

As it happens, the satellite was passing over the Korean Peninsula at around 10:35 a.m. on Oct. 9, when the test was conducted, but it only took pictures of South Korea, Kang said. “This was confirmed by administration documents submitted by the government and answers give by the intelligence authorities,” he added.

An official with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute said, “When it comes to satellite photos, terrestrial observation centers determine the coordinates where pictures will be taken, and the satellite takes and sends them.” He said the government decides the coordinates and sends them to the institute, which has no influence over them. “It was not until the Wednesday morning after the North conducted the nuclear test on Monday that the government started taking pictures of North Korea via the satellite,” Kang said. “I put the question why it didn’t but could get no clear answer.” A senior KARI official told the Chosun Ilbo on the phone there was no order from the government that pictures of North Korea were not to be taken. “The satellite just operated according to its pre-determined schedule,” he said.

Kang recalled that the Arirang-2 is a multi-purpose satellite designed to be used in case of a national security crisis and natural disaster. “The government should give its own answer why the satellite was launched in the first place if it couldn’t do its part in such a serious crisis.”

(englishnews@chosun.com )