Foreign Media, "Door Opens for South Korea's Future Space Development" [Nuriho Success]

The Korean launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II), designed and manufactured purely 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 dummy satellite with no actual functionality, the second launch of Nuriho this time carried a performance verification satellite and four CubeSats.
/Goheung=Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 21st, foreign media praised South Korea for opening the door to the future development of the space industry following the successful launch of the Korean launch vehicle Nuriho (KSLV-II).

U.S. CNN reported, "South Korea has struggled to catch up with its Asian neighbors in the space race," noting that 2 trillion won has been invested in the Nuriho project since 2010. It added, "Nuriho is South Korea's first launch vehicle using indigenous technology, opening the door to various future satellites and missions."

AP News described South Korea as "a top 10 economy and a major supplier of semiconductors, automobiles, and smartphones in the global market, but its space development program has lagged behind neighboring countries such as China, India, and Japan," and reported on the country's space development history.

AP also highlighted North Korea's satellite launch status and the contrasting evaluations from the international community. The agency stated, "North Korea successfully placed its first and second Earth observation satellites (Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2 and Kwangmyongsong-4) into orbit in 2012 and 2016," but added, "there is no evidence that any of these have transmitted space images or data back to Earth."

French AFP also introduced South Korea as the seventh country to successfully launch a 1-ton class practical satellite independently, while simultaneously noting North Korea's space development achievements. AFP reported that ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles use similar technology, stating that North Korea launched Kwangmyongsong-3 on the Unha-3 rocket into orbit in 2012, and that the U.S. criticized this as a missile test disguised as a satellite launch.

Japan's Kyodo News emphasized, "South Korea has become the seventh country, after the U.S., Russia, France, China, Japan, and India, capable of launching satellites weighing over 1 ton into orbit." It also evaluated that "under the new president, the door has been opened for the development of the space program."