North Korea's Kim received photos taken by spy satellite of White House, Pentagon -KCNA

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un meets with members of the Non-Standing Satellite Launch Preparation Committee, in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on November 24, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received photos of the White House, Pentagon and U.S. aircraft carriers in the naval base of Norfolk, taken by its recently launched spy satellite, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

North Korea last week successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, which it has said was designed to monitor U.S. and South Korean military movements.

The photos were the latest in a series of images of what KCNA described as “major target regions” sent by the satellite, including the South Korean capital of Seoul and U.S. military bases.

Kim also inspected satellite photos of the Andersen Air Force Base in the U.S. Western Pacific territory of Guam and a U.S. shipyard and airbase in Norfolk and Newport, where a total of four nuclear-powered air carriers and a British air carrier were spotted, KCNA said.

The United States and South Korea have condemned the satellite launch as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any use of ballistic technology.

Seoul officials have said the North’s satellite capabilities could not be verified as it has not released the photos.

(Reporting by Hyonhee ShinEditing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler)