South Korea to use Israeli spy satellite

Seoul is debating whether or not to lease the Israeli Ofek 11 spy satellite to monitor the North Korean military, according to Yonhap news agency.

The South Koreans primarily use American satellites, and officials believe that a locally produced satellite will only be ready in 2023.

A South Korean official said that “(South Korea) is really far behind on its timetable in its goal of launching five spy satellites between 2021 and 2022. The satellites are part of a plan to create a “firing line” which will be able to deal with the threat of North Korean missiles.”

South Korea is interested in using the Israeli satellite as both are on similar latitudinal lines – between 30 and 40 degrees north of the equator, according to the agency.