North Korea's spy satellite operation office begins work

North Korea began operating a satellite control office on December 2, the official Korean Central News Agency said, after last month successfully launching a spy satellite into orbit.

The announcement indicates North Korea may officially have put its Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite into service in the wake of the Nov. 21 launch. The office was set up at the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration, KCNA said on December 3, Kyodo reports.

The country's defence ministry "expressed expectation that the war deterrence of the DPRK would assume more perfect military posture," the news agency said. DPRK is the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's formal name.

The information acquired through the satellite will be reported to the relevant executive department of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and instructions will be given to major units and the General Reconnaissance Bureau of the Korean People's Army, it said.

The move comes after North Korea said last month that the reconnaissance satellite will officially begin its mission on Dec. 1, following a seven to 10-day fine-tuning process.

A South Korean military source has said several months of operational tests are required before a spy satellite is functional.