North Korea ‘Destroys Missile Test Facility’ in Signal Ahead of Trump-Kim Summit
7 June 2018
New satellite images indicate that North Korea is demolishing the test stand for intercontinental ballistic missiles at Iha-ri, just 16 months after the facility was first used for a test launch.
Analysis of commercial satellite images by experts at 38 North, the website operated by a Washington-based think tank, shows that the concrete pad for the test stand has been broken up, as have impact pads, access ramps, a support tower for launches and command buildings.
The stand, which covers almost one square mile, is the only known facility in North Korea for land-based ejection tests of canister-launched ballistic missiles, which are critical to the development of the Pukguksong-2 medium-range ballistic missile, the report states.
The 30-foot missile uses solid fuel and is reported to be nuclear-capable when it was first test launched in February 2017.
The weapon caused concern in security circles for being “more stable, more efficient and harder to detect” than previous generations of liquid-fuelled North Korean missiles, defence analysts told The Telegraph.
The development of canister-based ballistic missiles is important for North Korea’s Strategic Force as it enhances their abilities to more securely transport missiles over greater distances, protect systems from environmental conditions and reduce launch preparation times”, the 38 North report states.
“This, in turn, has the potential to reduce maintenance requirements, provide for greater tactical flexibility and improve wartime survivability”.
The 38 North analysts also believe the stand could have been used to test larger weapons, including the intercontinental ballistic missiles that were displayed on tractor-erector-launcher vehicles during the April 2017 military parade in Pyongyang.
The parade marked the 105th birthday of the late Kim Il-sung, the founder of the nation, and a national holiday known as the Day of the Sun.
The demolition of the Iha-ri Driver Training and Test Facility, in the north-east of the country, comes after Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, declared in April the unilateral suspension of nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
North Korea is likely to use the destruction of the facility to underline its commitment to scrapping its intercontinental ballistic missile capability, although tests to date suggest that the regime has already overcome many of the technological hurdles required to field a credible long-range missile force.
In addition, test stands are relatively simple to construct and satellites may not identify facilities unless they happen to capture images with a missile on the launch pad.
“It is unclear whether the destruction of the stand is an indication that the North is suspending this portion of its missile program or that Pyongyang plans to erect other similar facilities in the future”, the 38 North report concluded.
Courtesy: Spacewar