Free Republic

New Launch Facilities Under Construction at Musudan-ri, Possible Iranian Connection By 38 North New satellite photos from April 29, 2012 indicate that a major upgrade of North Korea’s Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground—more commonly referred to as Musudan-ri—underway since summer 2011, is making rapid progress. The new construction is intended to support future launches of rockets larger than the recently tested Unha—more capable liquid fueled space launch vehicles or missiles with intercontinental ranges—that will also overfly Japan, further aggravating regional tensions. In addition to a new launch pad under construction, much of the nearby village of Taepodong has been razed to...

North succeeds in missile tests, diplomats say According to diplomatic sources, North Korea has recently succeeded in testing the main engine of a long-range ballistic missile. Tests of what the North calls its Taepodong-2 rocket occurred at a launching pad in Musudanri, North Hamgyeong province. They were the first engine firings since December 2002. Such tests are often the last step before an actual flight test of a missile. A foreign diplomatic source said that the experiments were successful, in contrast to an accident during the last round of tests when an explosion destroyed facilities at the launching pad. Intelligence...