Satellite photos from less than a month ago indicate that a major upgrade of secretive North Korea’s Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, referred to as Musudan-ri, is making rapid progress. The new construction is intended to support future launches of rockets larger than the recently tested Unha, like intercontinental ballistic missiles and liquid fueled rockets. The U.S. and other nations are worried such rockets could be developed to deliver nuclear weapons. At the current rate of construction, the facilities should be operational by 2016-2017.

The new assembly building is somewhat similar to one at Iran’s Semnan Missile and Space Center. While the two countries have a long history of missile cooperation, it is premature to tell whether that cooperation includes the design and construction of this facility or the new long range rockets. Satellite imagery shows similarities to one at the recently completed Semnan launch complex in Iran which is also intended to handle a new large liquid fueled rocket. The North Korean facility, however, seems to have a similar layout, with labs and what appear to be administrative offices on the sides of the high bay building.

In addition to the new construction, the second major building project, 1.5 miles due east, required the razing of more than 75 buildings in the village of Taepodong. It may seem unusual that the North would build a missile assembly building in a location that requires the razing of a significant portion of a village. However, civilians may no longer be located in the area.

Construction of the new facility started in the summer of 2011 with the clearing away of the old buildings. It appears this building will be connected to the new launch pad by a road under construction. The probable missile assembly building is bigger than similar existing facilities at Musudan-ri and Tongchang-ri, allowing it to handle even larger rockets.

Aside from the obvious security implications of North Korea’s continued development of longer range rockets, these tests will fly over Japan, further aggravating tensions between Pyongyang and its neighbours.

North Korea on Tuesday vowed to push ahead with its nuclear program because of what it called U.S. hostility. The international community is pressuring North Korea to refrain from conducting what would be its third nuclear test, following a failed attempt in April to launch a satellite into space.

In its statement Tuesday, in which North Korea vowed to push ahead with its nuclear program, it made no direct threat of a nuclear test and said it was open to dialogue. An analyst, Koh Yu-hwan at Seoul’s Dongguk University, said the statement, from the North’s Foreign Ministry, was a message that:

“…the U.S. should come to the dialogue table (with North Korea) if it wants to stop its nuclear test.“

A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the institute’s findings Tuesday, describing it as an intelligence matter.
Associated Press writers Foster Klug and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.

Source: Associated Press