North Korean leader Kim Jong Un directly ordered the Dec. 19 release of reconnaissance satellite photos of downtown Seoul taken the previous day, Daily NK has learned.<\/p>\n
Kim seemingly aimed to display North Korea\u2019s reconnaissance prowess and promote internal unity, while at the same time cultivating an image of a supreme leader in direct charge of a militarily powerful country.<\/span><\/p>\n According to a high-ranking source in North Korea on Monday, Kim met with and directly congratulated leading officials of the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) on Dec. 18, the same day the North Korean media reported a test of a reconnaissance satellite under development.<\/span><\/p>\n At the meeting, Kim called the test \u201ca big advance that can bring down the enemies\u2019 strongholds,\u201d and that \u201cwe need to show them how scarily [well] we are developing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The source said Kim ordered the release of the satellite photo taken of Seoul to show off the country\u2019s reconnaissance capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n Kim also reportedly recalled an anecdote related to the development of tractors during the Kim Il Sung era.<\/span><\/p>\n In the 1950s, the Soviet Union had formed a military alliance with other socialist nations, the Warsaw Pact, and an economic association, the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, or COMECON.<\/span><\/p>\n At the time, the Soviet Union asked North Korea to modify its development strategy to focus on agriculture and join COMECON.<\/span><\/p>\n However, Kim Il Sung rejected this and drew up a plan for North Korea to develop heavy industry and agriculture on its own.<\/span><\/p>\n North Korea developed a tractor with indigenous technology, but during the first test, the tractor moved backwards instead of forward, leading to widespread disappointment among cadres.<\/span><\/p>\n