North Korea has constructed a secret military base close to its frontier with China that may house its latest long-range ballistic missiles, according to new research by a US thinktank.
The “undeclared” Sinpung-dong missile operating base, located around 27km (17 miles) from the border in North Pyongan province, is likely home to between six and nine nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and their launchers, the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report on Wednesday.
The weapons “pose a potential nuclear threat to east Asia and the continental United States,” the report warned.
CSIS described the facility as one of up to 20 missile bases and associated sites for maintenance, missile storage and warhead stockpiling that North Korea has never declared. It said Sinpung-dong had not previously featured in any denuclearisation negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington.
Analysts believe the missiles and launchers could leave the base in a crisis, link up with mobile units and carry out launches from elsewhere in the country, making them harder to detect.
The findings come as Pyongyang accelerates its weapons programme.
The report said bases such as Sinpung-dong form the backbone of North Korea’s evolving missile strategy and its growing nuclear deterrence and strike capacity.
North Korea supplied more than 10,000 troops
The research also comes amid closer ties between Pyongyang and Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Western and South Korean intelligence agencies say North Korea has supplied more than 10,000 troops, along with artillery shells, missiles and long-range rocket systems, to Russia’s Kursk region in 2024.
Washington has accused Moscow of providing Pyongyang with advanced space and satellite technology in return. Analysts note that much of the same technology is used in both satellite launchers and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
