
North Korea capitalizes on Russia's help by expanding satellite launching facility
The expansion at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, located on the country's west coast, would allow the regime of dictator Kim Jong Un to more quickly receive larger rocket components by sea than the current delivery method via railroad lines, security experts say.
North Korea hasn't commented publicly on the recent expansion at Sohae. The build-out was seen in satellite imagery released last month, according to ICEYE, a satellite-imagery analysis firm. Then, last week, Sohae's new seaport was shown in satellite images to have a docking slip for large vessels, according to a separate analysis published last week by 38 North, a website affiliated with the Stimson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
The Sohae seaport highlights Kim's ambitions to advance his satellite program with Russian help, say security experts.
Kim has pledged extensive military support to Russia for its war against Ukraine. In return, Russia has repaid him with air-defense systems, drone technology and protection against new sanctions.
But Moscow's help with Kim's satellite technology represents a far more significant military gain in the long term, security experts say. That is because a space-based surveillance system not only improves Pyongyang's reconnaissance capabilities but also makes its long-range missile strikes aimed at the U.S. mainland potentially more precise.
'Russian help alone can reduce a 10-year process to just one or two years," said Yang Uk, a military expert at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank in Seoul.
North Korea's lack of spy satellites is a sore spot for Kim, who has made cultivating the technology a top military priority. Just a handful of countries—including Russia and the North's top foes, the U.S. and South Korea—can build and launch their own spy satellites. Pyongyang's current technology is rudimentary.
In addition to the seaport, Pyongyang has been constructing new buildings, railroad lines and a larger assembly center for rockets at Sohae, according to Martyn Williams, the author of the 38 North report, who reviewed satellite imagery captured late last month. Kim has struggled to advance his satellite program and likely sought Russian expertise to troubleshoot problems from the botched attempts, he added.
'It's an elite club and North Korea wants to join," he said.
In 2022, the Kim regime stopped saying its satellites were solely for peaceful purposes and rewrote its space law to allow for military uses of the technology. The United Nations has long banned North Korea from carrying out satellite launches, as they are seen as cover for ballistic-missile tests.
Soon after declaring that space-based activity could be pursued for military purposes, North Korea's first two launch attempts failed. Weeks after the botched second attempt in August 2023, Kim met Russian President Vladimir Putin at Russia's main spaceport, where they toured a launchpad and a manufacturing site. When Russian media asked if Moscow could transfer space technology to North Korea, Putin gave a curt response.
'That's why we're here," he said. 'The North Korean leader shows great interest in rocket technology."
North Korea soon placed its first spy satellite into orbit in November 2023. Russia helped analyze blueprints and data from the previous failed launches, South Korea's spy agency has said.
Pyongyang claimed it had snapped photos of the White House and the Pentagon, though offered no proof. The North Korean spy satellite is orbiting the Earth though it appears nonoperational, South Korea's military has said.
Kim outlined an ambitious target for 2024: He announced plans to launch three more spy satellites. Only one was attempted—and it ended with a fiery disaster.
That failure likely involved rocket technology supplied by Russia, considering North Korea suddenly used a new type of engine, South Korea's spy agency said. At the time, many Russian technicians were also seen entering North Korea, likely to help with the satellite endeavors, other South Korean officials said.
North Korea hasn't launched another spy satellite since the failure in May 2024. One potential explanation, according to military experts: The Kim regime is in the process of applying Russian technologies to increase the chances of successfully putting many more satellites into orbit. The next launch doesn't appear imminent, they say.
To acquire space-reconnaissance capabilities, Pyongyang would have to deploy dozens of spy satellites of its own. Debris from previous failed launches also showed North Korea's satellites were only capable of capturing low-resolution imagery.
North Korea is in the very early stages of gaining space-reconnaissance capabilities, including keeping satellites in orbit and transmitting imagery back, said Doo Jin-ho, a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, a think tank in Seoul.
'Russia can help every step of the way," Doo said.
Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com

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