NORTH KOREA accused the United States of double standards today for letting South Korea launch a spy satellite from US territory after condemning the North’s earlier satellite launch.

The South launched its first domestically built spy satellite into space from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday. North Korea had put a military spy satellite into orbit for the first time on November 21.

North Korea’s launch triggered immediate strong rebukes from Washington, Seoul and their partners because it violated United Nations security council resolutions.

The security council views any North Korean launch using ballistic technology as a cover for testing its missile technology.

North Korea, however, maintains that it has the right to launch satellites and test missiles to counter US-led military threats.

“It is a space-level tragicomedy that the US, going frantic with illegal denunciation and sanctions moves over the exercise of [North Korea’s] sovereignty, has shown behaviour based on double standards by launching a spy satellite of [South Korea] in a shameless manner,” a spokesperson for the North’s National Aerospace Technology Administration said in a statement.