North Korea has clearly made an effort to make itself an enemy of the United States but it is not a threat to U.S. space assets. Its missiles are unreliable and costly and they failed at their sole attempt to launch a sputnik-class satellite in 1997. They are also unlikely to try and target U.S. satellites when they could target U.S. forces in South Korea with much less effort.
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The dictates of asymmetric warfare suggest that while rudimentary forms of space related initiatives by Tehran and Pyongyang cannot be ruled out in the future, it is more likely that they would seek to produce casualties on the ground rather than to try to damage inanimate objects in space. The proximity of forward-deployed U.S. forces, as well as America's allies and friends, provides a ''target-rich''environment for asymmetric attacks. Covert attacks against the U.S. homeland by various means would also seem to be more likely than easily attributable attacks against U.S. satellites. ( More ... ) Katz-Hyman, Michael and Michael Krepon. "Viewpoint: Space Weapons and Proliferation." Non Proliferation Review. Vol. 12, No. 2 (July 2005): 323-341. [ 15 quotes ] [ page 331-2 ]
North Korea wants a satellite for the same reasons as its neighbors. A robust satellite program points the way toward the world-class economy that North Korea hopes will rise, phoenix-like, out of the ashes of its current situation. Satellites offer a quantum leap in communications. And it's a big business with good export potential. The satellite market has recently passed the $100 billion mark. Japan has a thriving satellite industry. The South Korean government is subsidizing the industry to break into the global top ten in the near future. China plans nine satellite launches this year. Who can blame North Korea for wanting in on the action? ( More ... ) "Negotiating space with North Korea." Boston Globe. July 6, 2006.