Seoul, Mar 10 (IANS): North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country's recent development of a reconnaissance satellite is aimed at collecting information on the US military and its "vassal forces", Pyongyang's state media reported on Thursday.

On March 5, North Korea fired a ballistic missile in a second such test in less than a week that Pyongyang claimed was for developing a reconnaissance satellite, reports Yonhap News Agency.

During a visit to the country's space agency, Kim "noted that the purpose of developing and operating the military reconnaissance satellite is to provide the armed forces of the DPRK with real-time information on military actions against it by the aggression troops of the US imperialism and its vassal forces in South Korea, Japan and the Pacific", the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Kim said it is the party's "important strategic and tactical policy" to "keep a close eye on and distinguish the character of hostile military actions against the DPRK" and "enhance the capability for controlling situation and improve the rapid counteraction capability of the armed forces".

He expressed "great satisfaction" over the satellite's "aerospace photographing method," "high-resolution photographing equipment and the reliability of image transmission system," according to the KCNA.

The development of a reconnaissance satellite is among the key defence projects that the North unveiled during its major congress of the ruling Workers' Party in January last year.

The KCNA report came hours after South Korea's opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol was elected the country's next President on Thursday.