Satellite images
Located: North Korea’s satellite command center
Apr 13th
After North Korea invited international media to its satellite control center it was only a matter of time before it was located on satellite images. The building, distinctive for two round domes (possible radar domes) on the rooftop at each end (see below), made it fairly easy to spot. And that’s what’s happened.
Most of the media that visited the facility didn’t report its location. Japan’s NHK said it was in “northern Pyongyang” (correct!) while Chinese media said “about 20 kilometers northwest of Pyongyang” (incorrect).
It was first spotted by a reader to Curtis Melvin’s North Korea Economy Watch site.
The launch might More >
Latest satellite images of Sohae launch facility
Apr 12th
As the hours tick down towards North Korea’s planned launch of its Unha-3 rocket, DigitalGlobe has published fresh satellite images of the Sohae launch facility.
The images include some taken on Monday, April 9, and show little has changed since reporters visited the site a day earlier. The images are reproduced below.
There is an apparent error in one of the slides. In a report from Pyongyang after visiting Sohae, NBC News space analyst James Oberg reported that the building labeled a “high bay processing facility” is in fact the launch control center. A second building on a hill above the launch More >
Launch preparations underway at Sohae
Apr 6th
The latest satellite imagery of North Korea’s Sohae Launch Facility shows what appears to be preparations for the planned mid-April launch of a Unha-3 rocket. The pictures, from GeoEye, show several vehicles in the launch pad area, apparently taking in part in work ahead of the launch. There has also been progress on several construction projects at the facility on North Korea’s western coast.
A previous satellite image of the launch pad, taken 10 days earlier, revealed no apparent activity at the launch pad but the latest image, below, shows several vehicles in the pad area. There also appears to be More >
Changes at Pyongyang Earth Station
Mar 31st
A recent Google Earth update has revealed some changes at one of North Korea’s largest international communications center.
Pyongyang Earth Station, situated in Pyongyang’s eastern suburb of Sadong, is believed to be responsible for the country’s civilian satellite communications links with the rest of the world. I wrote a little about its history in a previous post.
Late last year it’s testcard (pictured, right) was seen at the end of the international TV feed of the funeral procession for late leader Kim Jong Il.
While there hasn’t been much change at the facility in several years, the summer of 2011 appears to have brought a More >
Inside Sohae Launch Facility
Mar 27th
Recent satellite images of the Sohae Launch Facility on the DPRK’s west coast are providing the best glimpse yet of the center where the DPRK intends to launch a rocket in early April. North Korea says it’s launching a satellite while the rest of the world consider it a cover for a long-range missile test.
Whatever the truth of the planned launch, here’s a look at some of the most interesting areas of the facility. All of the information is based on analysis of the most current satellite image from GeoEye, previous images through Google Earth, and through previously published pictures More >
Pyongyang satellite monitoring station
Feb 12th
In the northern Pyongyang suburb of Hyongjesan there are twelve large satellite dishes on a hillside. The dishes, easily visible in satellite photos, have been there for at least a decade and while their function is unknown, their close proximity to North Korea’s signals intelligence headquarters might be a clue to their purpose.
Some of the dishes have buildings next to them while others are surrounded by trees. Their exact size is difficult to determine, but most appear to be around 16- or 18-meters in diameter. That makes them large enough to receive signals from many satellites in orbit above Asia, but what are More >
Hana Electronics expands
Jul 5th
Hana Electronics, one of the few DPRK-foreign joint venture companies in Pyongyang, has recently expanded the facilities at its headquarters, it said on its home page.
The company is held equally by the commercial arm of North Korea’s Ministry of Culture and Phoenix Commercial Ventures, and was established in 2003. It began manufacturing DVD and Video CD players in 2004, according to the company’s website.
The company began construction work on a headquarters building south of the Taedong River in the same year. The building is located just to the south west of the Tongil Market and Hana Electronics moved into the More >
Kujang shortwave transmitter site
Apr 29th
If you’ve ever listened to The Voice of Korea on shortwave, you’ve probably heard broadcasts from this transmitter site. Kujang is one of the largest transmitter locations in the DPRK with, according to official records, 5 shortwave transmitters each capable of delivering a 200kW signal. That’s powerful enough to reach most corners of the world, given a clear frequency and good conditions.
North Korea doesn’t publish detailed locations of its transmitter sites, but a bit of digging around on Google Earth and cross-referencing with Curtis Melvin’s North Korea Uncovered Google Earth file and the World Radio TV Handbook led me to this More >
Pyongyang Earth Station
Feb 7th
In Pyongyang’s eastern suburb of Sadong lies one of North Korea’s gateways with the world. The satellite earth station, pictured below, links the country with international communications satellites.
Construction of the earth station began in early 1984, a few months before North Korea joined the Soviet-led Intersputnik group.
Back then, Intersputnik served as the satellite telecommunications coordinating body for socialist countries, and linked the Soviet Union and other Soviet-bloc states.
The DPRK was admitted as Intersputnik’s 14th member during a meeting in Karl Marx Stadt, East Germany (today called Chemnitz), in September 1984.
The earth station was inaugurated in October 1985, according to a More >
Expansion at Pyongyang TV Tower
Jan 12th
There appears to have been a significant expansion of communications capability at Pyongyang TV tower over the last decade. Analysis of satellite imagery through Google Earth shows big expansion of a neighboring building and the addition of multiple satellite dishes. (See the bottom of this post for updates.)
Here’s what the building looked like on June 3, 2000, which is the earliest image available in Google Earth. To its west two satellite dishes are visible. The TV Tower is just to the east of this building and you can see the top of the tower on the right-hand side of the More >
