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North Korea's Kim Inspects Spy Satellite Photos of 'Target Regions'

23 November 2023, North Korea, Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C), alongside his daughter Ju-ae (2nd L), joins a photo session with a group of engineers and scientists, who have contributed to the country's successful launch of a military spy satellite, at the National Aerospace Technology Administration. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa
23 November 2023, North Korea, Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C), alongside his daughter Ju-ae (2nd L), joins a photo session with a group of engineers and scientists, who have contributed to the country's successful launch of a military spy satellite, at the National Aerospace Technology Administration. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa
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North Korea's Kim Inspects Spy Satellite Photos of 'Target Regions'

23 November 2023, North Korea, Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C), alongside his daughter Ju-ae (2nd L), joins a photo session with a group of engineers and scientists, who have contributed to the country's successful launch of a military spy satellite, at the National Aerospace Technology Administration. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa
23 November 2023, North Korea, Pyongyang: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C), alongside his daughter Ju-ae (2nd L), joins a photo session with a group of engineers and scientists, who have contributed to the country's successful launch of a military spy satellite, at the National Aerospace Technology Administration. Photo: -/KCNA/dpa

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected photos taken by the country's new spy satellite of "major target regions", including the South Korean capital of Seoul and cities that host US.military bases, state media said on Saturday.
Nuclear-armed North Korea launched the satellite on Tuesday, but South Korean defense officials and analysts said its capabilities have not been independently verified, Reuters reported.
Kim examined photos of Seoul and other cities of Mokpo, Kunsan, Pyeongtaek and Osan, where US and South Korean military bases are located. The photos were taken as the satellite passed over the peninsula on Friday morning, state news agency KCNA said.
Kim examined the photos, as well as images of some areas within North Korea, during a visit on Friday to the control center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA) in Pyongyang.
On Saturday, Kim visited the control center once again to examine more photos taken in the morning of different target regions in South Korea: Jinhae, Busan, Ulsan, Pohang, Daegu and Gangneung.
One photo showed US aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, which arrived at a port in the South Korean city of Busan on Tuesday, according to KCNA.
During the visit, Kim also inspected photos of US Naval Station Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base taken by the satellite as it passed over Hawaii early on Saturday.
In a separate commentary carried by KCNA on Saturday, North Korea criticized the United States for providing advanced weapons to its "puppets", saying that even a small spark on the Korean peninsula would result in a global nuclear war.
"The United States had better ponder over the catastrophic consequences entailed by the arms offer to the puppet forces," it said.
Top diplomats of Japan, South Korea and the United States spoke on Friday and "strongly condemned the (Nov. 21) launch for its destabilizing effect on the region," the US State Department said in a statement.
Earlier this week, KCNA said Kim viewed images taken above the US Pacific territory of Guam of US military installations.

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African Nations Seek to Connect 300 mln People to Power by 2030

Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman
Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman
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African Nations Seek to Connect 300 mln People to Power by 2030

Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman
Delegates attend the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman

Several African nations committed on Monday to open up their electricity sectors to attract investors and light up homes of 300 million people currently lacking power in the next six years.

The continent has the highest number of people without access to electricity globally and is racing to connect homes to power by 2030 under a plan dubbed "Mission 300" launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in April.

The push aims to unlock at least $90 billion in capital from multilateral development banks, development agencies, finance institutions, private businesses and philanthropies, according to the Rockefeller Foundation, which is part of the initiative, Reuters reported.

"We want to expand and rehabilitate our electricity grids using the least cost possible," said Kevin Kariuki, vice president for infrastructure at the AfDB during an energy summit of African heads of state in Tanzania's commercial capital.

Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Tanzania were among a dozen countries that committed to reform their electricity utility companies, push renewable energy integration and raise national electricity connection targets.

Multilateral development banks and commercial banks represented at the summit will use the country's commitments to persuade their clients to invest in Africa's energy sectors, said World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Providing 300 million people with access to electricity, half of those currently without power on the continent, is a crucial building block for boosting Africa's development by creating new jobs, Banga said.

The World Bank expects to spend $30-40 billion on the plan, Banga said, while the AfDB will provide $10-15 billion, and the rest will come from private investors and other sources.

"The World Bank will pay countries as part of our support only when they make the (regulatory and policy) changes," Banga said.

Private capital has in the past blamed unfriendly regulations, red tape and currency risks for making investments in Africa's electricity sector hard.

Half of the targeted new connections will get electricity from existing national grids, the World Bank and the AfDB said, while the other half will be from renewable energy sources, including wind and solar mini-grids.