Images captured by commercial satellites of international and national space research organizations and private space companies are distributed to the private sector and utilized in various fields such as remote sensing and land management. Earth observation satellites are also used in the national sphere to provide intelligence support to allies and as a diplomatic tool, and in the case of the United States, there is a move to incorporate them into the space force reserve. North Korea is no exception to this trend. While North Korea is working to build its own reconnaissance satellite system, it is also studying ways to utilize commercial Earth observation satellite imagery for national policy and image processing technologies to increase the utility of imagery intelligence that can be acquired from the civilian sector. Based on the concern that North Korea could use Earth observation satellites to collect imagery, especially for maritime surveillance in South Korea and the Korean Peninsula, this study evaluates the value of military use of Earth observation satellites and analyzes the implications of North Korea's use. Using ESA's Sentinel-1/2 satellite as a sample, this study concluded that Earth observation satellites are sufficient for military applications such as monitoring fleet movements at naval bases and at sea, and that North Korea's use of them would allow for surveillance of the Korean Peninsula and its oceans, which would require South Korea's efforts to deny the collection of such intelligence.