By Ji Cheng

季澄

The Republic of Korea (ROK) Defense Ministry recently announced that the country's second military spy satellite was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida of the US. Like the first spy satellite launched by the ROK in December last year, this satellite was sent into orbit by a US Falcon 9 carrier rocket. The frequent interactions between the ROK and the US in military satellite launching indicate that the space military cooperation between the two countries has transitioned into a normalized and institutionalized phase.

韩国国防部近期宣布，韩军方第二颗军事侦察卫星在美国佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心发射成功。该卫星与去年12月韩军发射的首颗军事侦察卫星，均由美国“猎鹰9”运载火箭送入轨道。韩美在军事卫星发射领域的频密互动，表明两国的太空军事合作已进入常态化、机制化的新阶段。

According to the ROK Defense Ministry, the country will achieve the target of deploying four synthetic aperture radar satellites and one optical reconnaissance satellite in space around 2025. The successful launch of the second military spy satellite is a significant milestone in its implementation of this plan. Upon being deployed in place, the satellite can coordinated with the first one previously launched to further elevate the ROK military's intelligence collection, reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities.

据韩国国防部透露，韩军将在2025年前后实现在太空部署4颗合成孔径雷达卫星和1颗光学侦察卫星的目标。此次成功发射的“军事侦察卫星2号”，是这一规划的重要阶段性成果。该卫星部署到位后，可与先期发射的首颗军事侦察卫星相互配合，进一步提高韩军的情报搜集和侦察监视能力。

Furthermore, the ROK military schedules to launch 10 to 20 small spy satellites between 2026 and 2028 as well as about 40 micro spy satellites between 2028 and 2030 to weave a dense satellite network for enhanced reconnaissance frequency and efficiency.

此外，韩国军方还计划在2026至2028年发射10至20颗小型侦察卫星，在2028至2030年发射约40颗微型侦察卫星，从而织密卫星网络、提升侦察频次效率。

Since the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office, the ROK and the US have seen expedited alignment in multiple aspects including threat perception, policy coordination and practical operations, and also a tendency to accelerate their cooperation in the space military domain. These include various considerations on both sides.

自韩国尹锡悦政府上台以来，韩美在威胁认知、政策协调、实际操作等多个层面加快对接，在太空军事领域的合作呈现加速态势，背后包含着双方的多种考量。

In the view of the ROK, expanding its space military strength through its reliance on the US resources is the optimized option for addressing the two major issues of strengthening national military strength and fostering close relations with the US. On the one hand, integrating the space military cooperation into the scope of the security cooperation with the US and building joint space military capabilities are beneficial for the ROK to maintain the upper hand in the games against key opponents. On the other hand, reinforcing space military cooperation with the US can further manifest the specialty of the ROK-US relationship. The ROK tries to strengthen strategic ties with the US to elevate itself from the status of a middle power.

在韩方看来，借助美方资源壮大自身太空军事力量，是兼顾“加强自身军力建设”与“密切韩美关系”两大议题的最佳选择。一方面，将太空军事合作纳入韩美安全合作范畴，打造联合太空军事能力，有利于韩国在与主要对手的博弈中占据主动。另一方面，强化与美国的太空军事合作，可以进一步体现韩美关系的特殊性。韩国试图加强与美国的战略捆绑，借机摆脱“中等国家”的定位。

In contrast, upholding the Cold War mentality, the US has made sustained efforts to promote space militarization by brazenly designating space as a domain of combat with the establishment of Space Command and Space Force and vigorously developing and deploying offensive space weapons such as directed energy weapons and anti-satellite communication systems. Meanwhile, the US woos its allies to engage in intelligence cooperation in the space field. To maintain its hegemony, the US has carried out space military collaborations in multiple areas with the ROK. In December 2022, the US formally deployed a Space Force unit in the ROK by citing the nuclear and missile threats posed by regional security, and the ROK responded with the establishment of the Space Operations Squadron to enhance communication and coordination with the US Space Force unit.

反观美国，近年来美国以冷战思维持续推进太空军事化进程，公然将太空界定为“作战疆域”，组建太空司令部、成立太空军，大力研发部署定向能、“反卫星通信系统”等进攻性太空武器。同时，美国还拉拢盟友大搞太空领域的情报合作。为维护自身霸权，美国与韩国在多个领域开展太空军事合作。2022年12月，美国以地区安全面临“核导威胁”为由，正式组建美太空军驻韩部队，作为回应韩国也成立了太空作战综合部队，以加强与美太空军驻韩部队的沟通与协调。

To promote the so-called "great power competition", the US has been providing substantial assistance for its allied countries to bolster the development of space military strength. Some ROK politicians blindly emphasize military entanglements with the US in disregard of their special identity as a party directly concerned with the Korean Peninsula issue and even regional security. These irresponsible actions are detrimental to regional stability and will gravely impact the international security situation.

美国为推行所谓“大国竞争”，大力扶持盟国发展太空军事力量；韩国一些政客不顾作为半岛问题直接当事方的特殊身份，置地区安全于不顾，一味加强与美国的军事绑定。这些举动不负责任，不利于地区稳定，将对全球安全形势造成严重冲击。