North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected his country's first military spy satellite and gave the green light to launch its "future action plan," the North's official KCNA news agency reported.
Kim announced in mid-April that the construction of the moon was complete and ordered its launch. The announcement came a week after Pyongyang confirmed it had successfully launched its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, a move that reflects significant progress in North Korea's weapons program.
Analysts say there is a significant technical link between the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles and space launch capabilities.
KCNA said Kim had agreed to the next steps in a plan drawn up by the Non-Permanent Satellite Launch Preparatory Committee, a group dedicated to launching North Korea's first military intelligence satellite.
Kim said the successful launch of a military reconnaissance satellite was "an urgent requirement of the prevailing security environment in the country."
He added that the more he called the "desperation of US imperialists and puppet villains in South Korea" and the escalation of their actions against his country, the more Pyongyang exercised its right to self-defense "more fairly, directly and offensively to deter them."
The development of a military reconnaissance satellite was one of Kim Jong-un's major defense projects in 2021. In December, Pyongyang said it had conducted a "significant final test" to develop a spy satellite.
Pyongyang has not given a launch date, but Kim demanded in April that it be "launched on schedule".