North Korea said Tuesday that it has launched a space association consisting of civilian experts on space technologies, including scientists, engineers, professors and researchers.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) quoted Pyongyang-based Kim Chaek University of Technology vice president Ri Won-chol, as saying the association is aimed at promoting peaceful development and uses of outer space, stressing that space is the joint asset for all humanity.

Ri said the association will seek close cooperation with international organizations overseeing outer space matters or similar institutions of other countries based on the principles of equality and reciprocity.

Experts on North Korea, however, suspect the association was created to avoid international condemnation against the regime’s long-range missile tests by promoting what it claims to be the right to launch satellites for peaceful purposes.