North Korea disguises secret missile base as golf course
The North Korea site features wide roads ideal for trator-erector vehicles and a high-bay building that could accommodate missiles in an upright position. Photo / Middlesbury Institute
- North Korea has disguised a missile launch site as a golf course near Pyongyang.
- The site includes reinforced concrete bases and structures for long-range ballistic missiles.
- Analysts say the facility can accommodate Hwasong-19 missiles, capable of reaching North America and Europe.
North Korea has disguised a launch site for intercontinental ballistic missiles as a golf course.
Until last year, the site was the location of Kim Jong Un’s Winter Palace, also known as the Ryokpo residence, in a heavily-wooded valley about 30 kilometres southeast of the capital, Pyongyang.
The complex was recently demolished and replaced with a series of new structures, roads and what appear to be golf greens.
A closer examination of the facilities using near-infrared images over the course of the construction showed that the greens were reinforced with concrete bases in June, with a thin layer of soil added in August. By November, analysts determined that the grass had taken hold and the site resembled a golf course.
