Archive for the ‘Google Earth’ Category

Friday grab bag

Friday, September 16th, 2011

1. Korean War Historical Images (flickr): This first image is taken at what is now the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Haean-guyok, Hamhung (해안구역):

Click images for larger versions (See area today in Google Maps here)

This image likely comes from what is now Sunan Airport, though it could come from Pyongayng’s Taedonggang-guyok, where an airstrip was located before the Korean War:

And I am not sure where this facility was located, but below is an image of the former Chosen Oil Refinery in Wonsan:

2. NK News posted some rare photos of Chongjin taken by a recent visitor. See them here.

3. 38 North has published a couple of recent interesting reports: One by Andray Abrahamian and this twopart piece by Aidan Foster-Carter.

4. NK Leadership Watch has a roundup of recent DPRK-Russia engagement.

5. Choson Exchange also posted some recent pictures to their Facebook page.  See them here.

6. The DPRK Power Sector: Data and Interconnection Options

7. I am traveling a lot and unusually busy so please be patient for the next few weeks if I don’t get back to you.  Have a good weekend!

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Dandong customs house is busy, busy, busy

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

In the last decade we have seen the expansion of trade between the DPRK and the PRC.  You can see the data here (KEI) and here (Natuilus). You can also see this trend using satellite imagery:

Above image date: 2002-4-29

Pictured above (2002) is the former coal yard next to the Dandong train station in China.  Through this facility, China managed its DPRK coal trade.

Above image date: 2005-1-19

By January 2005, the coal field had given way to the construction of what was to become the Dandong Customs House, which manages rail and vehicle trade with the DPRK city of Sinuiju on the other side of the Amnok (Yalu) river. There are three things to notice in the picture above: New registration office (yellow box on the right), new main building (blue roof), preservation of nearby apartment blocks (yellow box on left).

Above image date: 2009-10-11

Above is the first photo of the completed facility which was taken in October 2009.  As is usually the case the parking lot is nearly entirely full.

Above image date: 2010-4-5

In the picture above we can see trucks moving in both directions through the registration office.  This facility is the first port of call for vehicles crossing the Friendship Bridge from Sinuiju, DPRK. Again we can see that the customs house is busy.

 

Above image dates: 2010-6-7, 2010-10-28

The above pictures (most recent on Google Earth) again reinforce the notion that the Dandong-Sinuiju trade route is bustling.

For the record, the North Koreans have expanded their customs facilities on the Sinuiju side of the border in relationship to the growing levels of trade:

Above image dates: 2002-4-29, 2010-10-28

But this is not all.  The North Koreans and Chinese are also building a second bridge and additional trade infrastructure in Ryongchon County, south-west of Sinuiju.  Learn more about that here.

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Tongchang missile platform completed

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

 

UPDATE 4 (2011-7-27): According to the Choson Ilbo, the DPRK is laying railroad tracks to connect the Tongchang-ri launch facility to the railway system:

A South Korean government source said the North is laying the tracks at the Tonchang-ri site, which is believed to have been completed early this year. The site is five times the size of the existing Taepodong missile test site in Musudan-ri in North Hamgyong Province.

“We believe that the train tracks will be used to transport long-range missiles from a missile plant in Pyongyang to the missile assembly facility in Tongchang-ri and to carry materials to the site for various kinds of facilities,” the source added.

Using current Google Earth imagery (March 2010), I am unable to confirm that the railway system is being extended to include the Tongchang-ri facility.  The closest railway station to the launch facility is at Cholsan (철산) a little over 8 miles (appx 13 km) to the north:

UPDATE 3 (2011-7-25): Global Security Newswire reports that the DPRK test-fired a long-range rocket engine at this facility:

North Korea in 2010 carried out a test of a rocket engine that could be incorporated into an extended-range missile, Agence France-Presse reported on Sunday (see GSN, July 8).

The trial occurred last October at the North’s new missile launch installation at Dongchang-ri, an unidentified high-ranking South Korean official told the Yonhap News Agency.

“We believed that the test, carried out at an hour when the U.S. military satellite could detect it, was aimed at showcasing its missile threats,” the official said.

Satellite pictures from January demonstrated the isolated nation has finished a missile launchpad at Dongchang-ri, a military site along the North’s west coast that is believed to be more sophisticated than the country’s initial launch installation at Musudan-ri in the east.

North Korea conducted test flights of long-range missiles in 1998, 2006 and 2009. While the earlier trials experienced technical failures, the missile in the most recent test traveled 2,000 miles before splashing down into the Pacific.

The nearly finished Dongchang-ri launch site is viewed by experts as figuring heavily into Pyongyang’s goal of fielding an ICBM that could put the continental United States within targeting distance.

South Korean intelligence officers think North Korea’s Taepodong 2 long-range ballistic missile, which is designed to travel roughly 4,160 miles, could hit the U.S. West Coast some 20 minutes after firing from Dongchang-ri, according to Yonhap (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, July 24).

UPDATE 2 (2011-2-16): Voice of America is reporting that the launch tower of the DPRK’s Tongchang Launch facility (동창리, 철산군, 39.667342°, 124.706786°) is now completed.  According to the article:

Tim Brown, an image analyst who is a senior fellow at Global Security.org, says it has taken North Korea about a decade to finish the facility.

“Little by little, they’ve been getting closer and closer to having an operational site. We can now say, I think confidently, that the launch tower and the launch pad are basically finished,” said Brown. “And the question is do they have a launch vehicle that’s ready to be launched? And we just don’t know.”

Here is more at Globalsecurity.org

Here is more at the Washington Post.

Here is the initial 2008 report on the facility by Joseph Bermudez and Tim Brown (PDF).

UPDATE 1 (2008-9-16): Just as the new missle platform gains media attention, someone announces that it has already been used.  According to Bloomberg:

“Any ballistic missile activity of the kind reported would not be permitted” under Security Council resolution 1718, McCormack told reporters in Washington today. The measure barred the provision of nuclear technology, large-scale weapons and luxury goods to be sold to North Korea and permitted cargo inspections to carry out the prohibition.

The possible engine test might be a sign that North Korea is backtracking on a pledge to cooperate with five other nations seeking an end to the country’s nuclear-weapons effort. The North Korean regime has failed to deliver a plan to verify steps to shut down the program.

The engine test at the Dongchang-li base in North Pyongan Province, which is expected to be completed by 2009, also shows that North Korea is continuing to develop long-range missiles, the newspaper reported today, without saying where it obtained the information.

The ignition test earlier this year may have been carried out on a Taepodong-2 missile, which has a range of 6,700 kilometers (almost 4,200 miles).  (Bloomberg)

The New York Times has a run down of the sources of this story.

Original Post (2008-9-11):

launchpad.JPG

Joseph Bermudez (Jane’s Information Group) and Tim Brown (talent-keyhole.com) have written an article about North Korea’s second long-range missle/rocket platform near Tongch’ang-dong.  The Jane’s press release and PDF of the article are below:

PDF of article images: nklaunchpad.pdf

Press release from Jane’s:

Jane’s Defence Weekly Uncovers North Korea’s New Missile Facility
LONDON (11 September 2008) –

Analysis of high-resolution commercially available satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe has allowed Jane’s Defence Weekly to verify the existence of North Korea’s new ballistic missile facility.

Located on the west coast of North Korea, several kilometres southwest of the village of Tongch’ang-dong, the new facility presents a challenge to US and foreign reconnaissance assets since it is obscured from direct airborne and seaborne observation by nearby hills. Difficulties with airborne reconnaissance are exacerbated by the facility’s location at the northern reaches of the Yellow Sea between North Korean and Chinese airspace.

The base has been under construction for the past eight years and will be capable of launching both the Taepodong 2 ballistic missile and the Taepodong 2 space launch vehicle. The facility also has a rocket engine test stand, which is capable of supporting test firings of all known North Korean rocket motors.

Joseph S Bermudez Jr, Analyst for Jane’s Defence Weekly, commented, ‘The installation is small by Western standards but large by North Korean standards. The launch facility consists of a moveable launch pad and a 10-storey-tall umbilical tower capable of supporting North Korea’s largest ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles.’

‘About 1 km south of the launch pad there is a rocket engine test stand, which is very similar to the Shahid Hemmat test facility east of Tehran, Iran.’ Bermudez continued, ‘The North Korean and Iranian governments have been collaborating on ballistic missile programmes since the early 1980s. A recent example of this was Iran’s use of a Safir or Messenger) space launch vehicle to launch its Omid (Hope) satellite. The Safir is closely based on North Korea’s indigenous Nodong missile.’

The new missile and space launch facility is approximately one or two years away from final first-stage completion. The launch pad probably achieved an emergency launch capability in 2006, although no launches are known to have been conducted to date.

This facility shows that, despite continued economic, political and social hardships, North Korea continues to commit precious resources to the development of ballistic missile and space launch capabilities. While the US is continuing to force an end to North Korea’s nuclear programme, its ballistic missile and space launch programmes appear to be continuing without much public objection.

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Friday Grab bag: a little bit of everything

Friday, June 17th, 2011

1. Google has uploaded some beautiful new satellite imagery of Pyongyang. Some parts of it are easier to see than others, and I have not gone through it all, but here are some fun, quick discoveries:

1. There appears to be a new aircraft runway in Ryongsong-guyok (룡성구역, 39.127835°, 125.777533°).  Maybe not, but maybe.

2. The Ryugyong Hotel is looking more and more like a space ship:

3. We can see 2012 building construction all over the place.  Below are the new apartments Kim Jong-il recently visited (L) at the foot of Haebang Hill and (R) behind the Central District Market (for artists).

Here and here are the KCNA stories about Kim’s visits to the sites.

Here is a photo of the artist-housing under construction.

The Haebang Hill apartments are built on the former location of the “Monument to the Fallen Fighters of the Korean People’s Army”.  See a picture of this former monument here.

 

2. DPRK TKD in USA. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, a North Korean Taekwondo team toured the northeastern US this week.  I wish I could have seen one of the shows…but here are some clips from the New York show on Youtube: Part 1Part 2Part 3Part4.

They did a great job and are tremendous athletes.  I hope they are able to return soon–and make it a little further south.

 

3. DPRK sand animation. This week KCNA posted some very interesting video of a “sand art” demonstration.  Very skilled performance. A viewer was able to rip the video and post it to YouTube.

Pictured above is the “Ryugyong Hotel fireworks” part of the performance.  Part 1 of the piece is here.  Part 2 of the piece is here.  The whole performance is well worth watching. If I could ever be a tourist to the DPRK again, I would want to see one of these performances.

UPDATE: A special thanks to Prof. Stephan Haggard for offering a helpful explication of the piece.

In a similar vein, this piece remains my favorite of the genre (from Ukraine).

 

2. Kim’s Train (Retro). Last week I posted recent video footage taken from inside Kim Jong-il’s train.  This week I post some retro footage taken in the 1970s(?):

You can see the video here.  The room set up is essentially the same, though Kim’s tastes have obviously changed!

 

3. The CNC backpack.

Here is the source.  Learn more about CNC here.

 

4. A North Korean artist reproduced da Vinci’s Last Supper for an art show in Russia. See the Russian-language version of the BBC here (picture-8 ). (h/t L.P.)

 

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Rason’s Chinese investor tour

Friday, June 10th, 2011

Pictured above (Google Maps): The Wonjong Bridge and route traveled by Chinese drivers from the border to Rason

UPDATE 6 (2011-6-15): Here is a great news video of the Chinese driving tour:

Click image to watch video at YouTube

UPDATE 5 (2011-6-10): Barbara Demick writes in the L.A. Times:

No doubt the most attractive part of the package for China is the access to the port in Rajin, part of a larger special economic zone known as Rason. In 1860, China’s weak Qing dynasty signed a treaty that ceded a long strip of coastline to Russia, leaving Chinese Manchuria landlocked. The use of the port in Rajin makes it easier to transport raw materials from the resource-rich region of northeastern China to the industrial hubs in southern China. In December, the Dalian-based Chuangli group, which had spent $3.6 million renovating the port, shipped 20,000 tons of Manchurian coal through the North Korean port to Shanghai.

“It is faster and cheaper to ship through North Korea’s port than to use the railroads,” said a businessman who was in Rajin this week as preparations were underway for the groundbreaking. “Everybody in Rajin is very excited about what the Chinese are doing. They think it will bring jobs.”

UPDATE 4 (2011-6-9): KCNA coverage of the Hwanggumphyong ground breaking ceremony also mentioned developments in Rason:

The [Hwanggumphyong] ceremony was followed by announcing the start of the reconstruction of the Rajin Port-Wonjong road, ground-breaking ceremonies of Athae Rason Cement Factory and the Rason, DPRK-Jilin Province, China High Efficiency Agricultural Model District and departing ceremonies of Chinese domestic freight transit transportation via Rajin Port and private car tourism as the first phase projects for the start of the joint development of the zone.

UPDATE 3 (2011-6-10): China’s Global Times reports on the Chinese business tour:

The first self-drive tour from China to North Korea started on Thursday, with around 100 tourists setting off from Changchun, Jilin Province, to Rason, North Korea, China News Service (CNS) reported.

A total of 24 vehicles carrying around 100 travelers including well-known entrepreneurs, officials with the Changchun Tourism Bureau and provincial government took part in the tour, according to a staff member surnamed Wang with the publicity department of the China Youth Travel Service (CYTS) Tours Corporation Jilin Branch, which organized the tour.

“We’ve spent more than a month preparing for the activity. We sent invitations to tourists and negotiated with the Rason government,” Wang told the Global Times on Thursday.

The tour will last from June 9 to 11, and the cost for each tourist was more than 1,000 yuan ($149), an anonymous staff member with the executive office of the CYTS Tours Corporation Jilin Branch told the Global Times on Thursday.

After assembling at the Changchun Exhibition and Conference Center on Thursday morning and identifying each car with a number, the tourists began their journey at 7 am and planned to reach Hunchun, the border city in Jilin Province that leads to North Korea, in the afternoon, according to the CNS report.

“The 24 vehicles were all provided by the tourists themselves, but we have dispatched a car to lead them and they were all given interphone sets in case some of them fall behind,” she told the Global Times on Thursday.

After passing through Hunchun, the tourists will reach Rason district and tour guides dispatched by the Rason government will lead them to visit Rajin Port and Rajin Bay.

There, they will be able to enjoy children’s performances and also visit local scenic spots, according to the staff member with the executive office of the CYTS Tours Corporation Jilin Branch.

“There were so many people who called to ask about this activity, so I believe we will organize a second tour in the near future,” she told the Global Times.

The North Korean government plans to develop Rason, located in the border area between China and North Korea, into an international economic zone. At the end of May, the North Korean government allowed Chinese tourists to make the self-drive trip to Rason to enjoy its scenery, according to CNS.

“Allowing self-drive tours from China to North Korea means a lot to both countries, because it will increase the interaction and enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, and consequently, enhance friendly relations between the two countries,” Yang Zhenzhi, a professor at the School of History and Culture (Tourism) with Sichuan University, told the Global Times, adding that the decision will also help to boost economic ties between the two countries.

UPDATE 2 (2011-6-4): According to an earlier report in the Donga Ilbo a “groundbreaking ceremony” for the Rason area will also take place Thursday (June 9).  No doubt this will take place just before the convoy of Chinese investors crosses into the DPRK.  According  to the article:

Sources in China`s Yanbian Autonomous District in Jilin Province and Dandong in Liaoning Province said Friday that the groundbreaking ceremony for the special district in Rason Special City will be held Thursday and that for the development of Hwangkumpyong in the Yalu River near Shinuiju will come Tuesday.

UPDATE 1 (2011-6-6): The news out today indicates that, as earlier reported (see original post below), a convoy of Chinese investors will travel the new road from Wonjong to Rason to explore investment opportunities.  There are a few interesting differences between the time the story was originally published (in April) and today:

Firstly, and the least interesting point, the “investment convoy” is about nine days behind the original schedule. Originally the convoy was to depart for the DPRK on June 1.  The convoy now appears to be departing on June 9.

Secondly, the convoy appears to be operated by a different Chinese tour company.  Back in April the convoy was being coordinated through the Sanjiang International Travel Agency in Hunchun.  The convoy departing this week, however, is run by CYTS Tours.  I do not know enough about either of these businesses to speculate on treasons for the last minute switch in partners.

Thirdly, the cost of the trip has increased significantly.  In April the Sanjiang Travel Agency said the trip would cost 680 Yuan.  Now CYTS Tours says the cost will be 1450 Yuan per person, and the convoy size will be limited to 30 vehicles.

Here is the most recent report in the Donga Ilbo:

Chinese nationals can start traveling Thursday to Rason, a free trade zone in North Korea`s northeastern region, with their own cars for three days.

This is in line with the development plan linking the Chinese cities of Changchun, Jilin and Tumen that the Chinese government is promoting, China’s Xinhua News Agency said Friday.

For starters, the service launched by CYTS Tours will begin with fewer than 30 cars. Travel costs will be 1,450 yuan (224 U.S. dollars) per person, including lodging and eating. Whether anyone has applied remains unknown, however.

People who will start from Changchun Thursday will drive 500 kilometers to Hunchun in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and then enter North Korea through the maritime customs at Quanhe. After crossing the Tumen River, they will go through immigration procedures at the customs office in the North Korean village of Wonjeong-ri and then go to Rason through a Hunchun-Rason road under construction.

The travelers will tour the port of Rajin and then tour Rajin Bay by boat. They will watch a children’s show and visit Sea Village and Wang Hai Guo, where the late founder of North Korea Kim Il Sung visited.

A source at CYTS Tours said, “The product was designed as a part of the (Chinese) government’s travel development plan for Changchun, Jilin and Tumen.”

ORIGINAL POST (2011-4-4): According to the Choson Ilbo:

North Korea is reportedly allowing Chinese motorists to drive to the special economic zone of Rajin-Sonbong so they can look around for investment opportunities there.

A spokesman for Sanjiang International Travel Agency in Hunchun, China on Friday said a group of Chinese motorists will tour Rajin-Sonbong and Duman near the North Korean-Chinese-Russian border under an initiative by the Tourism Bureau of Jilin Province on May 31-June 1. Sanjiang specializes in travels to the lower reaches of the Duman (Tumen) River in North Korea and Russia.

The two-day trip will cost 680 yuan (approximately W115,000) per person.

The Sanjiang staffer said small groups of Chinese motorists have gone to Rajin-Sonbong before, but this is the first large-scale trip organized by the Jilin provincial government and the first time tourists are visiting Duman.

The aim is apparently to lure Chinese investors to Rajin-Sonbong. Early this year, the North agreed with Hunchun city to build a large recreation center and park in its special economic zone.

Back in March 2008, the North allowed South Korean motorists to travel to the scenic Mt. Kumgang resort, but only four months later the tours were suspended after a South Korean tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier.

Related historical information:

1. Bridge on China-North Korea border being renovated (2010-4-13)

2. DPRK-China border bridge opens (2010-6-23)

3. Who uses Rajin’s Ports? (2010-5-23)

4. Rason port facilitates intra-China coal distribution (2011-1-4)

Read the original stories here:
China to allow nat`ls to travel to Rason, N.Korea, by car
Donga Ilbo
2011-6-6

Chinese Motorists to Tour N.Korean Investment Zones
Choson Ilbo
2011-4-5

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Friday grab bag: everything but the kitchen sink

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

DPRK Public Trial Video

There is a video on YouTube (via South Korean television) that purportedly shows a public trial that took place last April in Sinuiju (RFA). The trial took place in the Sinuiju central Square:

Sinuiju-square

There is an (increasingly hard to find) older video of a public trial in Hamju County (함주군) which clearly matches the satellite imagery. You can see the video here.  The stadium where it was filmed is here.

Kim Jong-il’s Only Televised Speech in the DPRK

In an earlier “Friday Fun” post, I linked to a parody of Kim Jong Il’s only televised speech in the DPRK.  Here is his actual and only speech!

Kimchi Dog

For the dog lovers: I thought this clip of a North Korean dog carrying a kimchi bucket near Kim Il-sung square in Pyongyang was cute.

DPRK No 2 Happiest Country?

Chinese blog post, picked up by the Shanghaiist, went viral this week.  The story:

China is the happiest place on earth(!!) according to a new global happiness index released by North Korea’s Chosun Central Television. China earned 100 out of 100 points, followed closely by North Korea (98 points), then Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela. Coming in at 203rd place is America (or rather “the American Empire”, 美帝国), with only 3 happiness points. South Korea got a measly 18 points for 152nd place.

Frankly, I don’t think most North Koreans would believe this story if they saw it on television.

I tried to learn more, but the source material is proving difficult to locate. There is no mention of the “study” in KCNA.  I have also gone through my archives of recent North Korean television footage and I am unable to locate the broadcast.  Does anyone know when the original video clip was aired?

For what it is worth, Freedom House just ranked the DPRK as the country with the world’s worst human rights record (again).

Did the DPRK Get a New Yacht?

While scouring new imagery of Wonsan on Google Earth, I noticed that a port, holding what many believe are ships for elite use, seemed to be +1 yacht.  Both are about 48m long.  The two pictures above are dated 2002-11-11(left) and 2009-10-3 (right). It is possible that the second yacht was moved from another location.  In 2009 the sale of two yachts to the DPRK was detected and halted.

New Google Earth Imagery of the Kumgang Resort

We can now see all the properties that the DPRK has “seized” from Hyundai-Asan: Family Reunion Center,  Kumgangsan Hotel, Mokranwon Restaurant, Kumgang Golf Course and more!

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Kaesong production sets monthly record

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Pictured above (Google Earth): Growth of the Kaesong Industrial Center (Apr. 2004, Jan. 2006, Sept. 2009)

According to Yonhap:

South Korean factories in an industrial complex in North Korea produced goods worth US$34.7 million in March, setting a monthly output record since the two Koreas launched the zone in 2004, Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Wednesday.

The complex, a key symbol of rapprochement between the two Koreas, combines the South’s technology and management expertise with the North’s cheap labor.

More than 46,000 North Koreans work for about 120 South Korean firms operating in the North Korean border city of Kaesong to produce clothes, utensils, watches and other low-tech goods.

The two divided Koreas managed to maintain the zone despite a chill in their relations over the North’s two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.

A couple of days ago I posted a story about the growth in number of North Korean workers at the complex.

UPDATE (2011-5-27): The Wall Street Journal’s Korea Real-Time offers some 2010 joint-Korean trade and aid umbers:

For the full year, general trade between the two Koreas amounted to $118 million, down 54% from $256 million in 2009.

But the joint industrial complex at Kaesong, a city just inside North Korea on the west side of the inter-Korean border, continued to flourish.

The volume of trade at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, goods moving into the approximately 120 factories there and then being shipped back south after North Korean workers added value, rose 54% to $1.44 billion last year from $941 million in 2009.

As part of the penalties following the Cheonan incident, the South Korean government limited the number of South Koreans who could stay at the Kaesong complex. The result: one-day visits to the complex soared, lifting the total number of South Koreans who visited the North.

For all of 2010, 130,119 South Koreans went to the North while just 130 North Koreans visited the South. In 2009, 120,616 South Koreans went to the North and 246 North Koreans visited the South.

South Korea’s assistance to North Korea also dropped sharply last year, to 30.1 bililon won from 77.5 billion won a year earlier. The South’s direct government assistance was 8 billion won, down from 10.4 billion won in 2009.

Private assistance from South Korea also fell to 20 billion won in 2010, from 37.7 billion won in 2009.

Read the full story here:
Production at Koreas’ industrial complex sets monthly record
Yonhap
2011-5-18

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DPRK’s largest communications center

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

UPDATE 1 (2011-4-29): Martyn Williams claims to have identified the name and purpose of the large communications center I identified on satellite imagery of North Korea:

If you’ve ever listened to The Voice of Korea on shortwave, you’ve probably heard broadcasts from this transmitter site. Kujang is one of the largest transmitter locations in the DPRK with, according to official records, 5 shortwave transmitters each capable of delivering a 200kW signal. That’s powerful enough to reach most corners of the world, given a clear frequency and good conditions.

I am not convinced that the site posted below is actually the Kujang short-wave transmitter. First of all, the towers are not located in the right county (Hyangsan, not Kuajng) and there are many more than five transmission towers.

I will post more as I uncover it.

ORIGINAL POST (2010-2-11): In Myohyangsan County ( 40.078134°, 126.111790°) is the largest collection of communications towers I have found in the DPRK…more than 20 towers clustered together.

communications-thumbanil.JPG

You can click on the image to see a larger version.

Hat tip to a reader.

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DPRK makes progess on ‘Thunderbirds runway’

Friday, April 15th, 2011

UPDATE 2 (2011-4-25): Strategy Page comments on the technology that makes these facilities obsolete:

Over the last decade, there has been a pronounced slowdown in North Korean work on underground air bases. Part of this may be the result of growing energy shortages up north, and the frequent blackouts. It’s not just electricity that’s been in short in North Korea over the last decade, it’s everything. That includes construction equipment, especially the specialized stuff needed for digging tunnels into the sides of mountains. But work continues, slowly, mostly with manual labor, to expand the network of underground parking and maintenance facilities for aircraft, as well runway extensions. These sheltered air bases begin underground, then exit the mountain and continue outside. Apparently the North Koreans have figured out that the Americans have now developed weapons that could quickly shut down these underground facilities, and keep them inoperable.

One of the key weapons for doing this is the U.S. Air Force 129 kg (285 pound) Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). The official story was that this GPS guided smart bomb was needed for urban warfare. The smaller blast (17kg/38 pounds of explosives, compared to 127 kg/280 pounds for the 500 pound bomb) from the SDB resulted in fewer civilian casualties. Friendly troops can be closer to the target when an SDB explodes. While the 227, 455, 911 kg (500, 1,000 and 2,000 pound) bombs have a spectacular effect when they go off, they are often overkill. The troops on the ground would rather have more, smaller, GPS bombs available. This caused the 227 kg (500 pound) JDAM to get developed quickly and put into service. But the smaller SDB was always a mystery, with many produced, but few actually used.

But the SDB also has a hard steel, ground penetrating, front end, that can penetrate nearly two meters (six feet) of concrete. Not much use for that in urban warfare. But such a capability is very useful for taking out underground installations, particularly the entrances and air intakes. North Korea, for example, has twenty airfields with underground hangars for the aircraft. Usually tunneled into a nearby hill or mountain, the underground hangar allows fighters and bombers to quickly taxi out onto the runways and take off. Since North Korea doesn’t have that many operational warplanes, it’s believed that some of these “airfields” actually have long range rockets and ballistic missiles, mounted on trailers equipped to erect the missile into launch position and fire it off, in the underground hangars. The trailers are hauled out of the tunnels, onto the air field, the missile fired, and then the trailer is taken back inside to be reloaded. The North Koreans also have hundreds of other, smaller, underground facilities, close to the South Korea border, containing artillery and rocket launchers. These weapons are meant to be quickly hauled out and fired south.

That’s where the SDB comes in, but the U.S. Air Force isn’t saying much about it. The SDB would be the ideal weapon for launching a surprise attack on North Korean underground facilities, both the airfield hangers and the artillery bunkers. American B-2 and F-22 aircraft can dodge North Korea radar and drop a lot of SDBs all at once. A B-2 can carry over 200 SDBs. An F-22 can carry eight, and still protect the B-2s against any North Korean fighters that might have been in the air at the time of the attack. A half dozen B-2s carry over 1,200 SDBs, which is sufficient to cripple North Korean air defenses and twenty key air bases. A few dozen F-22s carry another 300 SDBs to hit smaller, spread out targets. The SDBs not only shut down the entrances to the hangars, but also blow deep holes in the airfields. While North Korea has thousands of troops trained and equipped to quickly come in and clear the hangar entrances and repair the airfields, they are not quick enough to do so before unstealthy B-1s and B-52s come in with more smart bombs (and cluster bombs, carrying thousands of small booby traps, that explode when stepped on or rolled over by vehicles or engineering equipment).

UPDATE 1 (2011-4-15): The Kangda-ri AFB* (Thunderbirds Runway) is slowly expanding.

In the Google Earth image above (dated October 3, 2009), I have outlined the runway infrastructure in yellow.  The northern most runway is new but displaces and older highway airstrip. A bridge is under construction which would link the new runway with the one that passes through the mountain.

The main runway is unchanged in length since the previous image was taken in December 2007.  The secondary runway is appx 1920 meters long.

The construction site is receiving electricity from a nearby substation just northwest of the facility.  Currently the power cables are above ground and cross the runway (in green).

There is a similar facility in Onchon on the DPRK’s west coast.  You can find a good description of it in The Armed Forced of North Korea.

* I use the name “Kangda-ri” AFB because this was the name Joseph Bermudez gave to the original highway strip in The Armed Forced of North Korea.

**This picture was picked up by Radio Free AsiaYonhap, and the Wall Street Journal’s Korea Real Time.

ORIGINAL POST (2009-12-17): Although KCNA has not reported on it, the KPAF is making slow but steady progress on its east coast “Thunderbirds runway” just southwest of Wonsan (location here).  Construction had begun by Nov 11, 2002 when the image below was captured:

thunderbirds-runway-1-thumb.jpg

At the time this photo was taken the facility was in the early phases of construction, and the runway measured just over 1,500 m (According to Google Earth).  In fact the only way I could be sure it was a runway was because there was already a similar facility on the west coast–north of Nampo at Onchon AFB (Located here).  As an aside, if you would like to learn more about the Onchon AFB, Joseph Bermudez offers some information in The Armed Forced of North Korea.

Well, here is how the place looked December 24, 2007:

thunderbirds-runway-2-thumb.jpg

The runway foundation now extends nearly 2,450 m and we can see the outline of a functional runway appear.  The runway foundation is probably constructed from materials that are mined from the tunnels they are digging into this mountaion.  I am sure there is someone out there more qualified than I to calculate the size of the underground facility based on the amount of rubble they have used on the runway.

The rate of progress is surprisingly slow which is also evidence (though not definitive) that much of this work is being done manually.  At this pace lets hope they finish by 2012.

 

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Wonsan and other market developments

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

UPDATE: Some of these images were picked up by Radio Free Asia and Yonhap.

ORIGINAL POST: Google has provided new imagery of Wonsan, the capital of Kangwon Province. Using satellite imagery we can see the continued expansion of the city’s markets.

Pictured below is the formalization of Wonsan’s largest market (39.145886°, 127.455761°):

(Above) The image on the top-left is from Google Earth and it is dated 2002-11-11.  The picture on the top-right is from Bing Maps and the date is not known.  The bottom image is from Google Earth and it is dated 2009-10-3.

We can also see the formalization and expansion of a street market only 900m to the west (39.148420°, 127.443440°):

(Above) In the left-side picture dated 2002-11-11 you can see a small street market.  In the right hand picture dated 2009-10-3 you can see a large formal market has been constructed in city.

The growth in the numbers and sizes of markets throughout the country is not limited to provincial capitals.  This process can be seen in the smaller county capitals and worker’s districts as well. Below are some less prestigious examples:

Sunchon’s Puhung-dong  market upgrade (순천군, 부흥동: 39.485129°, 126.012211°):

 

Kangryon market expansion (강령군: 37.906801°, 125.505416°):

Ongjin Market expansion (옹진군: 37.928589°, 125.364248°):

But sometimes the process can move in reverse.  Here in Saepyol (새별군: 42.813426°, 130.205220°), the market was replaced by new housing.  I have still not located a replacement market in this city, though one will likely emerge.  In the meantime, people will simply trade in the streets or in a vacant plot of land:

You can see previous posts which show market expansion using Google Earth satellite imagery here, here, here, here, and here.

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