Inside North Korea’s base hidden in forest that could launch missiles at US

America is facing a huge security threat. And it comes from North Korea, led by Kim Jong-un. New research reveals that North Korea has a covert military base near the Chinese border that poses a “potential nuclear threat” to the US mainland.

The Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington, DC-based think tank, has identified the base to be located in Sinpung, North Pyongan province, located 27 km from the border with China. What makes it a threat to the US is that it contain six to nine of North Korea’s advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles, along with their mobile launchers and thousands of soldiers.

Base bigger than JFK airport

The Sinpung-dong missile base, which is hidden away from the public in a narrow mountain valley, is one of as many as 20 covert bases that make up North Korea’s clandestine missile belt. According to the CSIS, it was constructed in the early 2000s and became active around 2014.

It is believed to have been built using specialised engineering troops from the Korean People’s Army (KPA) military construction bureau. In fact, this group has been responsible for all North Korea’s 15-20 undeclared ballistic missile bases, maintenance, support, missile storage, and warhead storage facilities.

Built across 22 kilometres, approximately 5,436 acres, the Sinpung-dong missile base is bigger than New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport. The base includes underground shelters, support structures, and zones designed for mobile missile launchers. Unlike conventional missile sites, the installation lacks permanent launch pads and large defensive fortifications, emphasising North Korea’s focus on mobility and concealment.

The CSIS noted that the entrance to the Sinpung-dong missile base is surrounded by heavy vegetation and forestry, which helps in avoiding detection. They also added that the launchers and missiles could leave the base in times of crisis or war, link up with special units and conduct harder-to-detect launches from other parts of the country.

Jennifer Jun, a co-author of the CSIS report said that Pyongyang has taken great pains to conceal the site. “Sinpung-dong has been the most challenging to find thus far,” she said.

Also, as per the satellite imagery, the Sinpung-dong missile base houses six to nine nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and their launchers. “These missiles pose a potential nuclear threat to East Asia and the continental United States,” the report said. If not the ICBMs, the base is believed to be equipped with the nuclear capable Hwasong-15.

CSIS analysts also note that construction is still ongoing at the site with the aim of boosting the facilities there.

What’s even more notable about the base is that the hardened nature of the base and its location close to the border with China makes it difficult for a pre-emptive strike. “By building bases so close to China, North Korea may also seek to leverage the political risk and uncertainty of Beijing’s response in order to deter an attack,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, was quoted as telling CNN.

North Korea’s growing weapons arsenal

The covert military base ties in with North Korea’s escalating nuclear threat. Since denuclearisation talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un broke down in 2019, North Korea has been steadily advancing its weapons programmes in defiance of international sanctions. In fact, last September, the North Korea leader promised to “exponentially” boost the nation’s nuclear arsenal in a bid to defend the country against “hostile” forces.

In a speech marking the 76th founding anniversary of his government, Kim Jong-un said that the country would “redouble its measures and efforts to make all the armed forces of the state, including the nuclear force, fully ready for combat”.

As of January 2024, Pyongyang has assembled 50 nuclear warheads as well as has the fissile material for an estimated 70-90 nuclear weapons, as well as advanced chemical and biological weapons programmes. Under its weapons umbrella lies hypersonic missiles, which can fly at several times the speed of sound and at low altitude to escape radar detection, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and short-range ballistic missiles that are solid fueled, advancing a technology that makes missiles easier to transport and faster to launch.

In recent times, North Korea has also strengthened security ties with Russia, including sending arms and troops to fight in its war against Ukraine in exchange for support that includes technological assistance with its weapons programmes.

The reach of North Korea’s missiles

North Korea’s missiles put much of its neighbours and now even the US at risk. With the Hwasong-15, having a range of approximately 13,000 km, it puts all of the continental US into range.

Pyongyang also possesses the ER Scud missiles. It can hit targets up to 1,000 kilometres away. That puts all of South Korea within range, as well as Osaka, Japan’s second-largest city.

It is also reported that North Korea’s intermediate-range ballistic missiles have a maximum range of 4,500 kilometres. This puts the US military bases on the island of Guam firmly into range, as well as much of South-East Asia.

With inputs from agencies