Pyongyang hosted a banquet last Saturday to celebrate their recent launch of the Kwangmyungsong-4 satellite and boast of its importance to national independence and defense, the Rodong Sinmun said in its Monday edition.

In particular, leader Kim Jong Un’s celebration speech during the banquet, emphasizing stronger self-reliance and sustainability, adds weight to the claim that the satellite launch was mainly for domestic purposes.

The Moranbong Band, one of the best-known North Korean musical acts outside the North’s borders, also performed for the scientists, engineers and workers who helped develop the rocket.

“I have decided to launch the satellite, the product of our