N. Korean Underground Tunnels, Impregnable Fortresses against Nuclear Attack(Russians involved)

Segye Ilbo ^ | 07/04/05 | Chang In-soo

[TigerLikesRooster]

/begin my translation

N. Korean Underground Tunnels, Impregnable Fortresses against Nuclear Attack

Eludes U.S. spy satellites by painting radar-absorbing materials(on the entrance)
Enough food to last for 3 years -- even equipped with oxygen generators 

We set up the new section called 'N. Korean File' to provide you with vivid picture of N. Korean society. (Articles in) this section would be based on internal documents from N. Korea or testimony from N. Korean defectors. As its first article, we investigate underground tunnels in N. Korea, based on content from monthly magazine 'N. Korea.' 

It is first revealed in S. Korea that N. Korea kept U.S. spy satellites from tracking locations of their underground tunnels by analyzing Russian satellite photographs. It is also confirmed that their underground tunnels are designed to withstand nuclear attacks 

The July issue of a monthly magazine 'N. Korea,' published by N. Korea Institute (executive director: Kim Chang-soon,) reported 'the Status of N. Korean underground tunnels in cities and counties,' based on the testimony of a N. Korean defector, Mr. Kang(age:56.)

According to its report, upon N. Korean request, Russia had taken the satellite pictures of N. Korean underground tunnels, and provide N. Koreans with the pictures. N. Korean General Staffs analyzed them. Upon finding any underground tunnels exposed to the satellite surveillance, they immediately alerted those in charge of the exposed tunnels via telex, asking them to repaint radar-absorbing materials on underground tunnels' entrance door. This way, they have been eluding the detection by U.S. spy satellites. Mr. Kang said, "Guards at underground tunnels spent the largest amount of time in painting such material." This underground tunnel is for wartime command post, which can command and control the entire population of a city, and is safe from nuclear attack. 

5 meter in front of the door to command tunnel in City H. of N. Ham-kyong Province, they made an artificial hill of 1,500 cubic meters. Upon enemy's nuclear or chemical attack, an alert bell would be sounded. Then a commander, with mere push of a button, can detonate explosives buried inside the hill. After the explosion, the entrance to the tunnel would be completely covered with dirts, and oxygen generators inside the tunnel start to operate, which allow people inside to survive for three months. 

No. 1 tunnel is for storing items of personality cults, such as statues and portraits of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. It is connected to the command tunnel, and designed to last indefinitely. N. Korean underground tunnels are divided into categories such as storage of strategic reserve materials, wartime production of military supplies, civilian evacuation. They can prosecute their war using underground tunnels only. No.2 tunnels are for storing (wartime) food supply to last for years. It is said that, even during the peak of famine in mid-90's, no food supply was released to public. Occasionally soldiers try to steal from it, but they are shot on sight.

Types of Underground Tunnels               source: July issue of 'N. Korea'

Type	When to use	purpose and maintenance responsibility	survival duration
Command Tunnel	wartime	wartime command, control, and communication for milita, youth guards, reserve units Civil Defense Dept. of a local Party Committe	3 months
No.1 Tunnel	wartime	statues of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-sook, and the storage of No. 1 materials Civil Defense Dept. of a local Party Committe	permanent
No. 66 Tunnel (civilian evacuation)	wartime	the evacuation of whole population upon air raid alert Security Section of City Police	3 years
No. 2 Storage (food storage)	peacetime, wartime	storage of wartime food No. 2 Management Office(directly under a Party Secretary-in-Charge)	3 years
No.4 Material Tunnel	peacetime, wartime	wartime construction materials province, city, and county	3 years
Fuel Oil Tunnel (diesel, gasoline)	wartime	storage for wartime fuel fuel oil depot for military units, provinces, cities, and counties, or General Bureau of Logistics Mobilization	5 years
Munition Tunnel	peacetime, wartime	munition storage General Bureau of Logistics Mobilization, Security Section of province, city, and county police	3 years
Strategic Reserve Material Tunnel	wartime	storage of strategic reserve materials General Bureau of Logistics Mobilization	3 years
Factory Relocation Tunnel	wartime	wartime production of military supplies military supply factories and businesses	3 years

upper middle: a mountain

lower half:

far left (checkered box): buried explosives inside an artificial hill --
       to be detonated for sealing the tunnel entrance.

next to the right: entrance door --
        painted with radio-wave absorbing materials
        (evades radar detection like a stealth fighter)

right: lower tunnel  -- 20 chambers inside

        upper tunnel -- No. 1 Tunnel

 

 

Equipments for Maintaining Command Tunnel

Name	Use	Country of Origin
generator	lighting, heating	Japan, Russia, China
fan	humidity control	Russia, China, N. Korea
oxygen genrator	oxygen for sealed tunnel	Russia, China
ultraviolet light	lighting	Russia, N. Korea
detonator for sealing tunnel entrance	upon nuclear and chemical alert
stealth entrance	absorbing radio-wave from radars
telex and fiber optic communication equipment	wartime communication	Western countries
food, medicine, bedding, and fuel

Chang In-soo

2005.07.04 (Mon.) 19:59

/end my translation

[Colorado Doug]

they made an artificial hill of 1,500 cubic meters

That is a laughably small amount of dirt, not even sixty truckloads. A loader could stack that much in half a day. Hardly enough to protect them from much of anything even if they managed to lob it all against the door with a buried charge. Oh well, let them seal themselves in and cut the outside communications.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Have you seen the circumference of Kim Jong il's mid-section, including love handles, in centemeters these days?? You kidding?

[GunnyBob]

Situations such as these are why we have Marines with Kabars and assorted firearms. I don't want to nuke the sites because it might ruin the trout fishing, which is good from what my sources tell me.

[steve86]

What does radar absorbing material have to do with spy satellites?

Spy satellites use radar imaging along with optical, IR, etc.

[Itzlzha]

All I can say, is that a Brig General (Ret.) "aquaintance" of mine told me all this 2 years ago.

The border is also undermined with tunnels from N. Korea to the South...a known fact.

All the article says was confirmed to me by my very trusted source...good enough for me.

Also, you can thank the Germans as well for these tunnels...

[LRS]

This wouldn't be related to the exploding mountain a few months ago, would it?

Interesting remark.

I did a FReep search to see if any new info was posted about that explosion. I remembered there was one report of a crater, and another that said there were 2 explosions, but I saw no follow ups. While the presence of a crater would seemingly point towards a surface explosion, instead of tunneling (but not necessarily), explaining a pair of explosions is a bit tougher (could point to an accident where there could have been a secondary explosion, or, could point to a construction project of some sort. Take your pick)

But one thing did stick out in my mind as I looked at the reports made at the time: geography.

If one just looks at a simple surface map, like the one included in one of the articles, that explosion took place at the point in North Korea that is furthest from the water, where one would expect the US Navy to be, and the furthest from S. Korea.

I know that strictly from geographical viewpoint, I would want an important strategic site placed there, to help protect it from easy attack, relatively speaking. By maximizing the distance an enemy is going to have to cover, the chances of detecting an attack, and possibly defending against it, increase.

One thing is for certain: the North Koreans have had ample time and practice since the Korean War to have become experts at tunneling...

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #45

Thanks for your vote of confirmation.:-)

[JZelle]

"Have you seen the circumference of Kim Jong il's mid-section, including love handles, in centemeters these days?? You kidding?"

LOL! As always, the exceptions are those who rule.

[Paul_Denton]

The 9 megaton W53 warhead or B53 gravity would do the trick.