Despite Kim's call, work still ongoing at North's launch site

Photos of a satellite launch site in North Korea taken Wednesday show work is still ongoing despite leader Kim Jong-un's urgings that the regime's first spy satellite be launched within the month, according to Voice of America on Thursday.

A photo released by the Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central Television on Feb. 7, 2016 shows the launch of the regime's Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite from the Sohae Satellite Testing Ground in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province. [YONHAP]

Aerial photos of a satellite launch site in North Korea taken Wednesday show construction work is still ongoing despite leader Kim Jong-un's urgings that the regime's first spy satellite be launched within the month, according to a Korean-language report by Voice of America (VOA) on Thursday.

The outlet cited photos taken by Planet Labs, a private earth observation company, to conclude that work on the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Cholsan, North Pyongan Province remains incomplete, raising doubts about whether the North can launch its first military reconnaissance satellite soon.

Pyongyang’s state media claimed in December and again earlier this week that the regime was on track to launch a spy satellite into orbit by this month.

According to VOA, at least two ships can be seen in waters adjacent to a pier near the launch site since April 3.

Although the purpose of the ships’ presence remains unclear, the pier is connected by land to the launch site, suggesting the vessels may be in place to transport materials to the area, the VOA said.

The pier is located only 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) from a coastal village connected directly to the launch site via a tunnel that appears to be under construction in the photos.

Planet Labs photos taken on April 19 also show that a 25-meter-wide road appears to have been lengthened by 30 meters to the north and 60 meters to the south since last month.

If the road continues to be extended at both ends, it will connect the pier to the tunnel that leads into the launch site, thereby bypassing the winding, mountainous path that connects the two.

VOA cited the ongoing road and tunnel construction work, as well as the leftover debris and dismantled rocket assembly facilities at the launch site, to conclude the North is unlikely to launch a spy satellite within the month.

Pyongyang’s state media reported Wednesday that leader Kim Jong-un has ordered final preparations to launch the regime’s completed spy satellite into space.

The North Korean leader made the comments during a Tuesday inspection of the North’s space development agency, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim ordered final preparations be sped up to ensure that his regime’s military reconnaissance satellite will be launched at the scheduled date within this month in order to “firmly establish satellite intelligence-gathering capability” and to pave the way for the deployment of “several reconnaissance satellites in different orbits in succession in the future,” the KCNA said.

Kim also ordered the agency to develop “standardized and reliable carrier rockets” for the satellite.

A spy satellite has long been on the North Korean leader’s wish list of sophisticated military assets, having been first mentioned during his speech at the eighth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party held in January 2021.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]