Kim Jong Un Arrives to Fanfare at North Korean Defense Agency

Leader Kim Jong Un said deploying spy satellites is essential to protect North Korea’s sovereignty after one of its rockets failed in flight, as his regime made good on a threat to drop “filth” on South Korea from balloons it sent over the border. In a speech to the country’s Academy of Defense Sciences, Kim said the rocket launched Monday that was meant to deploy a spy satellite failed due to an abnormality in a first-stage engine. He also paid tribute to the engineers and technicians “who have become a solid cornerstone of the fighting capability of our army,” the official Korean Central News Agency quoted him as saying. “Possession of a military reconnaissance satellite is a prerequisite and essential for our nation to further strengthen its self-defense deterrence and protect national sovereignty,” KCNA on Wednesday quoted Kim as saying. The North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite blew up shortly after liftoff in a setback for Kim, who went to Russia last year seeking help placing an array of reconnaissance probes into orbit. Read more: -------- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: Subscribe to Bloomberg Originals: Bloomberg Quicktake brings you global social video spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. Connect with us on… YouTube: Breaking News on YouTube: @BloombergQuicktakeNow