UPDATE 1 (2015-11-18): There was some follow-up media coverage of this work that claimed Camp 16 is about half the size of Pyongyang. This is not the case. Here are the actual statistics comparing the geographical sizes of Camp 16 and Pyongyang [Measures are approximate using Google Earth measuring tools]:
Pyongyang has 230 mile (371km ) perimeter and area of 679 sq miles (1758 sq km).
Camp 16 has 72 mile (115 km) perimeter and area of 212 sq miles (548 sq km).
So Camp 16 is approximately 31% the current size of Pyongyang. If we included Sungho, Sangwon, and Junghwa, which were moved into North Hwanghae Province, the percentage would drop even further.
ORIGINAL POST (2015-11-12): I previously wrote about Camp 16 in Myonggan here (2013-7-19). Now Google Earth has updated the imagery of Camp 15 with satellite pictures dated 2015-11-2 and 2015-10-15. I reported some of the changes in this RFA report this week, but here they are again…
1. New small hydro power plant. The North Koreans built a dam, drainage canal and small power station near one of the camp’s production facilities:
Here is a close up of the plant and a nearby factory that appears to be operational:
2. New housing and possibly a sports field. A new apartment block was built in the camp. It appears to be nearly 160m in length and is composed of just a couple of stories. The building behind it that is probably for livestock. The picture also reveals what appears to be a sports field of some kind next to the housing. The image is not very clear, so this could be something else, but I am not sure what.
Here is a closeup of the “sports field”. If you have a better idea what this is, please let me know.
3. New fish farm. The fish farm is small, just over 1,100 sq meters surface area.
4. Housing Razed. Just north of the fish farm some buildings, which could be small homes or workshops, appear to have been razed:
5. Evidence of continued mining and logging. Below we can see evidence of mining activity since 2013.
Here are piles of felled trees which indicate the mine also exports lumber:
If the minerals that are mined and the lumber that is harvested are exported for hard currency, the transaction would likely involve a trade company under the control of the Ministry of State Security (MSS, SSD, NSA), however, I am not privy to the details of those transactions.
