SEOUL, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Both South and North Korea aim to launch their first spy satellites into orbit by the end of the month, entering a race for military capabilities in space.

South Korea, meanwhile, plans to send its first domestically developed military reconnaissance satellite into space on Nov. 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base.

"Both Koreas stand to benefit to different degrees from the acquisition of independent space-based reconnaissance capabilities," said Ankit Panda of the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In September Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Kim Jong Un a tour of Russia's modern space launch facility and promised to help Pyongyang build satellites.

And on Tuesday, a researcher at North Korea's National Aerospace Development Administration said the militarisation of space by the United States and its allies demanded that Pyongyang step up its spy satellite programme.

The two Koreas could use such satellites for increased early warning capabilities, military targeting and damage assessments in the event of a war, and communications, among other uses, said Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean army general.

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