U.S. company SpaceX launched South Korea’s first exclusively military-use satellite into orbit on Monday, fulfilling a plan that North Korea has frequently criticized as “destroying peace” on the peninsula.

The ANASIS-II communications satellite was launched on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida around 5:30 p.m. local time, according to a press release from the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

It is “expected to provide a permanent and safe communications network for exclusive use by the military,” DAPA stated, replacing the dual civilian-military-use Koreasat 5, which was launched in 2006.

The statement added that the satellite will offer “double the data transmission capacity of ordinary communications satellites, and maintain continuous communication, even in the case of a jamming attack.”

DAPA stated that the successful launch makes South Korea “the 10th country in the world to secure a military-use satellite,” as it pursues “full-scale capabilities in the high-tech competitive arena of space.”

This entails “plans to gradually secure defense capabilities,” particularly by providing “reconnaissance and early-warning” systems.

The administration separately intends to launch five reconnaissance satellites as part of a plan known as Project 425.

Following Monday’s launch, DAPA expects the satellite to reach geosynchronous orbit (a “high Earth orbit that allows satellites to match Earth’s rotation”) in about two weeks. DAPA also plans to check its performance and operability a month later, after which it will be operated by the military’s Defense Communication Command (ROKDCC).

North Korea had yet to comment hours after the launch, but Pyongyang has frequently complained of Seoul’s developments in this arena. 

As the most recent example, the external state media outlet Arirang Meari called the South’s plans to “launch reconnaissance satellites” and acquire military hardware such as drones and fighter jets “hostile acts” last month, further stating that it violates inter-Korean agreements.

This echoed articles that appeared in the DPRK party-run newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, last year. The articles stated that such satellite developments “severely break the thaw in tensions” and “destroy peace and stability” on the peninsula. 

In a recent sign that top North Korean leadership is still paying attention to South Korean military developments, Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, said in March that she believes Seoul is “preoccupied with all the disgusting acts” such as “purchasing ultra-modern military hardware.” 

The latest launch may also raise ire in Pyongyang because it took place on U.S. soil and was delivered by SpaceX, a company which has also been contracted by the Pentagon. 

The original contract to acquire the ANASIS-II satellite was also part of a 2014 purchase of 40 F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, though the U.S. Department of Defense reportedly said it was not involved with matters revolving around the satellite.

This week’s launch came during a lull in inter-Korean tensions — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly halted plans for a military buildup on the border in late June. 

Kim’s decision also put an end to a three-week propaganda campaign that mostly targeted anti-North leaflets flown over the border, in which North Korea stated that inter-Korean agreements are “dead.”

Meanwhile, DPRK state media once again condemned Japan last week for its satellite launch plans, accusing the country of working with the U.S. to develop “the technology for neutralizing and destroying satellites of other countries.”

Satellite development from other countries such as China, Russia and Iran, however, are routinely covered in state media without similar condemnations. 

North Korea also appears to be continuing its own development of satellite technology following its last launch in 2016, which was criticized by the U.S. and other countries at the time as a development that contributed to the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile efforts.

Edited by Kelly Kasulis