Russian Rocket Scientists Look at North Korea’s Plans to Land on the Moon
On Thursday, a senior North Korean official told AP that North Korea is looking to plant its national flag on the moon's surface, possibly within the next ten years. Russian rocketry experts offered their input on whether Pyongyang actually has the technical and logistical capabilities to make it to the celestial body.
Speaking to AP, Hyon Kwang Il, the director of the scientific research department of the North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration, told the news agency that his country would defy all efforts to block the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ambitions in space, and would ultimately plant its flag on the moon.
"Even though the US and its allies try to block our space developments, our aerospace scientists will conquer space and definitely plant the flag of the DPRK on the moon," Hyon said. The official added that his country "has started to accomplish our plan and we have started to gain a lot of successes."The official explained that the first step to a successful moon launch would be launching several observation satellites into Earth orbit in order to improve the country's communications capabilities, and to provide data for agricultural and forestry assessments. "All of this work will be preparation for our flight to the moon," Hyon noted.
Ultimately, the official insisted that his country intends to master "manned space flight, and [conduct] scientific experiments in space, make a flight to the moon and [conduct] moon exploration," and even explore other planets.
This seems less ambitious than Kim Jong Un's father's plan, thwarted only by the death of Dear Leader:
Kim Jong Il Announces Plan To Bring Moon To North Korea
