North Korean ICBM factory upgrade project slows, satellite imagery shows
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A major construction project at a North Korean long-range nuclear missile factory has slowed in recent months in a possible sign of resource or project direction issues, NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery has found, after work started with urgency last summer.
Planet Labs imagery shows that basic framework construction on two large buildings covering around 2.5 acres (1 hectare) outside tunnel entrances at the Thaesong Machine Factory near Pyongyang stalled with little progress between early December and mid-February.
While it remains possible that renovations or installation of new machinery has continued inside the mountainside tunnels, the abandonment of half-finished structures outside suggests the project was poorly planned or is facing shifting priorities.
NK Pro was first to report on the start of the upgrade project last July, detailing evidence that the factory’s western complex, where construction is now taking place, likely housed liquid-fuel engine production lines for intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or satellite carrier rockets in the past.
Existing evidence suggests the eastern complex has been used for final liquid-fuel IRBM and ICBM assembly and the western complex for rocket engine production, but additional functions are not confirmed.
The new construction could be related to North Korea’s stated aim of developing a new liquid-fuel engine for the country’s military reconnaissance satellite program.
If construction is indeed related, a likely contributing factor to the delay would be Kim Jong Un abandoning his goal of launching three military satellites in 2024, after the only launch attempt of the year failed in May.
Meanwhile, North Korea has pursued expensive military projects elsewhere in the last year like new warship construction and even major upgrades to other weapons factories, some of which experienced their own delays prior to resurgences in activity.
