Tim Furniss
Imagery from Ikonos, the first commercial spy-satellite-class remote sensing satellite launched last year has revealed that the much-feared Nodong missile launch base in North Korea is nothing but a very basic test site with a few buildings.
Nodong has apparently worried USA security chiefs for years but Ikonos has proved that previous secret spy satellites must have had similar information which makes the USA's highly public concern interesting.
Missile launches from Nodong influenced US security planning during the 1990s, with the view that these launches were a primary threat and drove the development of US missile defence programmes costing tens of billions of dollars.
The scale of the USA's response to the apparently extremely modest North Korean missile programme now seems excessive.
IKONOS imagery reveals that the test site is barely more than a camp site, consisting of the most minimal imaginable test infrastructure.
The base is not far from the town of Nodong, and about 10km from the town of Taepodong, in Musudan-Ri, Hwadae County, North Hamgyong province, at N40° E129°.
It is obvious that it was not intended to support the extensive missile test programme that would be needed to fully develop a reliable missile system, judging by the number of launches that are required by the USA to declare its missiles operational.
Transportation links, propellant storage, and personnel buildings needed to support an extensive test programme are not seen in the Ikonos images. There is little sign of permanent occupancy and the base looks like a temporary camp. Indications of industrial support or the infrastructure needed to support a large site is missing. There are no railway connections or paved roads.
The base was reportedly completed in 1988. Since then only two missile tests have been conducted. A prototype of the Nodong-1 missile was detected on a launch pad in May 1990. The single test flight of this missile was conducted in May 1993. In August 1998 the longer-range Taepo Dong-1 missile was launched in what was claimed to be an attempt to orbit a small satellite.
US intelligence officials said that they had been caught unawares. The Taepo Dong 1 missile, based on the Soviet Scud, and equipped with a solid propellant third stage was likely a prototype of the Taepo Dong 2 missile.
North Korea's plans to develop this 4,000km to 6,000km range missile concerned the USA. The Taepo Dong 2 would be able to reach the western seaboard of the USA - and even eastern Europe.
Concerned about North Korea's ballistic missile development, the USA and Japan agreed in 1998 to study the possible development of a missile defence system. Japan, meanwhile, is studying the development of a 1m class reconnaissance satellite to assess North Korea's missile capabilities.
Source: Flight Daily News