Foreign Media Also Focus on 'Nuriho Success'... "South Korea's Space Technology Makes Great Leap Forward" [Nuriho Success]

Successful Launch of Korean Launch Vehicle 'Nuriho' on the Afternoon of the 21st
7th Country in the World to Successfully Launch a 1-Ton Class Practical Satellite
"Korea Secures Core Technology to Establish Space-Based Surveillance System"

The Korean launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II), designed and manufactured entirely with domestic technology, is soaring into space with flames erupting from the launch pad at Naro Space Center in Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do on the 21st. Unlike the first launch, which carried only a satellite mock-up with no actual functionality, the second Nuriho launch this time included a performance verification satellite and four CubeSats. / Goheung = Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Park] Korea, with its domestically developed Korean-style space launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II), succeeded in space flight on the 21st, joining the ranks of the 'world's top 7 space powers.' Foreign media gave significant coverage to the news on the day.

US CNN reported, "Korea has struggled to catch up with neighboring countries in the field of space technology," and introduced that "Korea has invested about $1.5 billion (approximately 1.9 trillion KRW) since 2010 to develop Nuriho." It emphasized that while previous launch attempts borrowed Russian technology, Nuriho succeeded in launch purely with Korean technology.

AP News highlighted the significance of Nuriho's successful launch amid escalating hostility with North Korea, stating that Korea has become capable of establishing a space-based surveillance system. Currently, Korea relies on the US as it does not possess its own military reconnaissance satellites, but with this success, it has secured the core technology to send reconnaissance satellites into space. France's AFP also evaluated that "in Asia, China, Japan, and India all have advanced space programs," and Korea's space program has made significant progress.

Japanese media also paid attention to the news of Nuriho's launch. Japan's Mainichi Shimbun reported that Korea became the seventh country in the world to successfully launch a practical satellite weighing over 1 ton, following the US, Israel, China, the European Union (EU), Japan, and India. Jiji Press explained, "Nuriho succeeded in carrying a satellite to an altitude of 700 km and placing it into orbit," and "the government took the lead in the aerospace industry, gathering technology from about 300 companies to develop it." Nikkei Asia reported on the success of Nuriho's launch along with news about the upcoming launch of the orbiter 'Danuri (KPLO)' scheduled for August.

Chinese media also uniformly reported the related news. The Global Times, a sister publication of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, emphasized that "former President Moon Jae-in made a significant contribution to the development of Nuriho by requesting the complete termination of the US-ROK missile guidelines at the US-ROK summit in May last year and reaching an agreement." The overseas edition of the People's Daily also reported, "Korea invested about 2 trillion KRW over approximately 12 years to succeed in launching Nuriho," and "overcoming one failed launch, it became the seventh country in the world to launch its own satellite."