North Korea Preparing to Launch Military Satellite, South Says 

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what the country said is the launch of the Malligyong-1, a military spy satellite, into orbit on Nov. 21, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what the country said is the launch of the Malligyong-1, a military spy satellite, into orbit on Nov. 21, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
TT

North Korea Preparing to Launch Military Satellite, South Says 

This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what the country said is the launch of the Malligyong-1, a military spy satellite, into orbit on Nov. 21, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what the country said is the launch of the Malligyong-1, a military spy satellite, into orbit on Nov. 21, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

South Korea's military said on Friday it had detected signs in North Korea of possible preparations for a satellite launch in what would be the nuclear-armed North's effort to place a second military reconnaissance craft in orbit.

South Korea and US intelligence authorities are closely monitoring North Korea's activities, a South Korean military official said.

The activities were spotted at Dongchang-ri, a northwestern area of the country where North Korea's main space flight center is based, the official said without elaborating.

North Korea launched its first spy satellite last year and claimed leader Kim Jong Un reviewed photos taken of the White House and the Pentagon, among other areas of the world. State media have not released any photos taken by the craft, however.

The launch was met with sanctions from the US and its allies and prompted Seoul to suspend part of a military agreement it signed with Pyongyang in 2018.

Pyongyang scrapped the pact in response and restored previously demolished guard houses near the border.

The reclusive state also vowed to launch three more satellites this year.

Earlier this year, South Korea launched its second homegrown spy satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida amid a space race with the North.

Pyongyang has defended its satellite launch as part of its right to self-defense and denounced Washington's reaction as a "double standard" over South Korea's launch of its own.



Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
TT

Kremlin: Putin Not Ruling Out Talks with Ukraine, but Wants Guarantees

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a TV camera screen as he speaks during a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ruling out talks with Ukraine, but guarantees will be needed to ensure the credibility of any negotiations, Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Sunday.

More than 90 countries took part in a two-day event at the Buergenstock resort in central Switzerland aimed at uniting global opinion on how to end Moscow's 27-month-old invasion.
Russia was not invited to those talks.

Kyiv's positions have been taken into consideration in the final communique for the summit, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Sunday.

"The text is balanced, all of our principled positions on which Ukraine had insisted have been considered," he told reporters.

Kuleba also hinted that Russia could be involved in a future summit but dismissed Putin's demand on Friday that Kyiv cede four regions of Ukraine that Russia has occupied and drop its goal of joining NATO.