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N. Korea expands ’67-meter missile launch facility’

Posted July. 23, 2015 07:16,   

한국어

North Korea has increased to 67 meters the Sohae Missile Launch Station at the village of Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, it has been newly confirmed.

According to the South Korean Defense Ministry on Wednesday, the North launched its ICBM-grade long-range missile "Unha-3 (8,000-km range)" from the site in December 2012. At that time, the gantry was 50 meters tall. The North started a project to expand the launch station for long-range missiles in late 2013. The country expanded the facility to nearly 60 meters high in November last year, increasing the height of the launch station by over 10 meters in nearly two years.

If the height of a launch gantry is increased by 10 meters, the size of a missile that can be launched from the facility can be increased as well. According to the South Korean military intelligence, the North will be able to launch a long-range missile about twice the size of Unha-3 (30 meters) with the gantry.

The KN-08 road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile, which the North will highly likely launch, was unveiled in April 2012 on the centennial of the late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung’s birthday. The maximum range of the missile is estimated at 12,000 kilometers. This range enables the North to strike western regions of the U.S. mainland from Dongchang-ri.

Also, North Korea is reportedly constructing an auxiliary building around the Dongchang-ri launch station, it has been confirmed. "38 North," a website dedicated to North Korean affairs, analyzed in May that the North was constructing an auxiliary building that supports launching to the east of the launch gantry, and installing a platform linking the building with the launch tower. The South Korean military authorities judge that a data communication system linking the state space development bureau’s general satellite control center in Pyongyang with the Dongchang-ri launch station.

As the missile gantry has not been completed yet, a missile will not likely be launched any time soon. The South Korean military authority said chances are high that Pyongyang will launch a long-range missile from the launch station around October 10, which marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Workers’ Party. South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said last month, “The North could complete the construction of the Dongchang-ri launch station before October, and take provocative actions of launching a long-range missile around the foundation day of the Workers’ Party.”

According to a government source of South Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently instructed his government to launch a satellite to commemorate the foundation day of the Workers’ Party. Whenever it test-fired ICBMs including Unha-3, the North had claimed that it fired satellites in a bid to deny that they were military threats. The source said, “We understand work is currently underway concerning long-range missiles at a military supply factory near Pyongyang.”

The North is focusing all of its capacity and efforts, including the launch of an ICBM, on commemorating of the 70th anniversary of the Workers’ Party. The North is reportedly preparing a massive military parade by mobilizing Rodong Missiles, multi rocket launchers, and armored vehicles at Mirim Airport in Pyongyang to show off Kim Jong Un’s achievements. A diplomatic source said, “We understand Pyongyang have sent invitations to countries ahead of the foundation day of the Workers’ Party on October 10.”



neone@donga.com