Seoul: South Korea will launch its fifth homegrown military spy satellite from a US space base this weekend, the defence ministry said Friday, in a move expected to bolster its independent surveillance capabilities against North Korea.

The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spy satellite will lift off at around 1 a.m. Sunday (US time) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to the ministry.

The satellite is the fifth and final military satellite to be launched under the country’s plan to deploy five spy satellites by the end of this year to better monitor North Korea and help reduce its reliance on US satellite imagery.

“Operating a total of five reconnaissance satellites in a cluster will enable a faster and more accurate detection of signs of North Korea’s provocatio

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