N. Korea's spy satellite operation office begins mission: state media

North Korea launching a military spy satellite is seen on the TV in Seoul Station, Seoul, Nov. 22. Yonhap

The office in charge of operating North Korea's military reconnaissance satellite has commenced its mission, the country's official news agency said Sunday.

The North successfully placed the reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, into orbit on Nov. 21 after two failed attempts. The North has since said that a "fine-tuning" process on the satellite was under way and the Malligyong-1 would begin its official mission on Dec. 1.

"The reconnaissance satellite operation office, organized at the Pyongyang General Control Centre of the National Aerospace Technology Administration (NATA), started to discharge its mission on December 2," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The office will perform its mission as an independent military intelligence organization, it also said.

The KCNA said the information acquired through the mission will be reported to "the relevant permanent executive department of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and ... offered to major units regarded as war deterrence of the state and the General Reconnaissance Bureau of the Korean People's Army."

The KCNA also quoted the country's defense ministry as expressing "expectation that the war deterrence of the DPRK would assume more perfect military posture."

The DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)