Japan Launches New Satellite To Spy On North Korea

(RTTNews) -Japan on Friday put into orbit an information gathering satellite apparently to spy on Communist North Korea.

Japan's H-2A rocket carrying the satellite was launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Kyodo News reported.

It will replace one of the three such satellites Japan had put into orbit in the wake of a missile launch by North Korea.

The new satellite costs 35.9 billion yen ($471 million) and its launch expenses would be around 10.4 billion yen ($136 million), the report said quoting government sources.

Launch of the satellite, jointly developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., had been put off three times during the past four weeks due to the approach of a powerful typhoon to the Japanese coast and detection of a system glitch.