North Korea has a secret missile base near the north border with China, with previously unreported missile bases near the north border with China, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The Singpandong missile base is located just 27 km (approximately 17 miles) from the Chinese border. A report from the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Research (CSIS), said it is believed to store up to nine nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and their mobile launchers.
The site is one of an estimated 15-20 ballistic missile bases and warhead storage facilities that North Korea has never declared, reports drawn from satellite image analysis, interviews with North Korean refugees and officials, confidential documents and open source data state.
“These missiles pose a potential nuclear threat to East Asia and the US,” the report warned.
Over the past few years, North Korea has increased its arms programme under national leader Kim Jong, rapidly modernising its troops, developing new weapons, and testing intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach almost anywhere in the United States.
These actions violate UN sanctions that strictly restrict access to North Korea’s materials and weapons. However, the isolated country has since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, sending its troops to strengthen cooperation with Russia and fight the troops on the frontline.
The foundation of this secret is part of North Korea’s efforts to strengthen its nuclear program, the report said.
The base is located in a narrow mountain valley, cut in half by a stream and measures 22 square kilometers (approximately 5,436 acres). This is bigger than John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Experts say locations near the border lend geographical benefits. Countries like the US may be wary of targeting fallout as it could affect neighboring China.
“By building a base that is very close to China, North Korea can also try to exploit the political risks and uncertainties of Beijing’s reaction to stop the attack,” said Raife Eric Easley, a professor at EWHA University in Seoul.
“While US and South Korean policymakers already recognize that they do not want to exchange these capabilities in disarmament diplomacy, public knowledge of such a foundation may encourage more Chinese observers to resent North Korea’s attempts of strategic entanglement,” he added.
According to satellite imagery, the base began construction in 2004 and has been in operation since 2014, the report found. Since then, the base has been “well maintained” and has continued to be actively developed. It said it could reflect on ongoing progress in North Korea’s missile testing.
It is not yet clear which models of ballistic missiles are stored at the base, but CSIS researchers believe they are equipped with North Korea’s nuclear-sensitive Hwasong-15 or Hwasong-18 ICBMs, or a different type of ICBM that has not yet been revealed.
Reports show that the base is carrying a transporter launcher or a mobile launcher. This states that you can shoot quickly and move to a new position.
“During times of crisis or war, these launchers and missiles will leave the base, fill special warhead storage/transport units, and carry out launch operations from dispersed, pre-served sites,” the report said.
The report also includes satellite images pointing to many of the base’s facilities, including admission checkpoints, headquarters buildings, warehouses, missile support facilities and small residential buildings.
Some of these are intentionally covered with trees and bushes, hiding the entrance. Except in winter when “when vegetation is sparse,” it is becoming more difficult to find on satellite images.
The secret base is part of North Korea’s “missile belts” at several other bases, some of which have been published by CSIS separately. This constitutes a key component of Pyongyang’s “evolving ballistic missile strategy and its expanding strategic level of nuclear suppression and strike capabilities,” the report said.
North Korea owns between 40 and 50 nuclear warheads and is believed to own nuclear warheads throughout the region and potentially to the US mainland. Kim has also in recent years pledged to increase rhetoric, build a country’s nuclear program, and has threatened to use it to destroy South Korea if attacked.
This story has been updated with additional information.
