
North Korea disguises secret missile base as golf course
North Korea is hiding a new launch site for intercontinental ballistic missiles in plain sight, disguising the base as a golf course on the outskirts of Pyongyang.
The site was until last year the location of Kim Jong-un's Winter Palace, also known as the Ryokpo residence, in a heavily wooded valley about 20 miles south-east of the capital.
However, the palace complex was recently demolished and replaced with a series of new structures, roads and what appear to be golf greens.
A closer examination of the facilities using near-infrared images over the course of the construction showed that the greens were reinforced with concrete bases in June, with a thin layer of soil added in August. By November, analysts determined that the grass had taken hold and the site resembled a golf course.
But analysts from the Middlesbury Institute's James Martin Centre for Nonproliferation Studies have said that flat areas with concrete bases are ideal launch pads for long-range ballistic missiles and that some of the other buildings at the site are not typically found at a golf course.
New roads at the site are wide enough to accommodate the tractor-erector vehicles required to manoeuvre the Hwasong-19 ICBM into position. The 92-foot missile was first successfully launched in October 2024, can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of at least 9,300 miles, putting all of North America and Europe within range.
One of the new buildings at the site is a four-storey building that is estimated to be 118ft high and would be able to accommodate missiles in an upright position.
Sam Lair, a member of the research team, told Radio Free Asia: 'While this facility could be used for shorter range systems like the Hwasong-11/KN-23/KN-24 series of missiles, the height of the high-bay building suggests it is also built to allow longer-range systems to operate from it.'
He added: 'You would not need a 36 meters [118 feet] high building for just short-range systems'.
Behind the building is another structure that has been covered in earth, for greater protection as well as concealment, that could house four launch vehicles.
North Korea on Monday launched a volley of ballistic missiles into waters off its west coast, coinciding with the start of the Freedom Shield joint US-South Korean military exercises in the South.
The drills will last for 11 days and the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a statement that its forces were in a 'full readiness posture' and were closely cooperating with US forces.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Greta 'mistreated and mocked' by dancing Israeli officials before deportation
French doctor Bapiste Andre was on 'freedom flotilla' with Greta Thunberg - he said the group were subject to 'mockery' when they were intercepted by Israeli officials An activist on the 'freedom flotilla' boat with Greta Thunberg has said the latter was mistreated by Israeli officials. There "were acts of mistreatment" according to Baptiste Andre, who spoke to French media after the group of 12 were brought to the port of Ashdod. Mr Andre, a doctor, said there were 'no acts of physical violence', but that they were subject to sleep deprivation and 'mockery' by Israeli officials. He said this was 'especially' focussed on Ms Thunberg. 'As soon as [ Thunberg ] fell asleep, the immigration services came to wake her up' he claimed, adding that music was turned loud and members of the immigration services 'danced in front of us'. Adding there was some difficulty for the detainees in gaining access to food, water and toilets, Andre said: 'It took three hours to get a piece of bread.' On X, the Israeli foreign ministry said: 'The passengers of the 'Selfie Yacht' arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to depart from Israel and return to their home countries. Those who refuse to sign deportation documents and leave Israel will be brought before a judicial authority.' Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said Thunberg was party to ' Instagram activism'. Israeli officials have received criticism after calling the group anti-semitic amid their attempts to bring food to people in Gaza. The UN has warned Gaza's population is at risk of famine. Ms Thunberg was one of 12 passengers on the Madleen, a ship carrying aid to Gaza. Israeli naval forces seized the boat without incident early on Monday about 125 miles off of Gaza's coast, according to the coalition, which along with rights groups, said Israel's actions were a violation of international law. Israel rejects that charge because it says such ships intend to breach what it argues is a lawful naval blockade of Gaza. Speaking upon arrival at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Ms Thunberg called for the release of the other activists who were detained aboard the Freedom Flotilla. She described a 'quite chaotic and uncertain' situation during the detention. The activist added the conditions they faced 'are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now'. 'We were well aware of the risks of this mission,' Ms Thunberg added. 'The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid.' She said the activists would continue trying to get aid to Gaza.


Sky News
5 hours ago
- Sky News
UK backs UN treaty to stop oceans becoming the 'wild west'
A new treaty to govern international waters is "tantalisingly close" after countries - including Britain - promised to sign it into law. The British government said this week that it will introduce legislation by the end of the year to ratify the UN High Seas Treaty, following a recent surge in support from other countries to do the same. At present, remote waters, which make up nearly two-thirds of the world's oceans, are largely lawless and are vulnerable to over-fishing, climate change, the threat of deep-sea mining and geo-engineering. Prince William on Sunday said protecting the planet's oceans was a challenge "like none we have faced before" after teaming up with Sir David Attenborough to discuss the plight of the vital resource. The High Seas Treaty was agreed by 193 countries two years ago, but cannot come into force unless 60 countries ratify it. This week at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, countries ratifying it passed 50, bringing what could be the first legally binding agreement on protecting international waters a step closer. 0:56 "The entry into force is within our sight," UN secretary general Antonio Guterres told reporters on Tuesday. "We do not have a moment to lose." He called the ocean the "lifeblood of our planet", which "feeds the soul". "It produces half of the oxygen we breathe, nourishes billions of people, supports hundreds of millions of jobs, and underpins global trade." Campaigners have called the high seas the "wild west" of the ocean as they are mostly ungoverned, and said a treaty could deliver protection at sea "on a scale we've never seen before". Chris Thorne, Greenpeace UK oceans campaigner, said: "We're tantalisingly close to a huge moment for the planet." Governments that ratify the treaty could be held accountable under their own jurisdictions and at an oceans tribunal, but it would be difficult to force other countries to follow the rules, even if they agreed to the treaty. The drive comes as President Donald Trump pulls the United States and its money out of environmental projects, and as some European governments weaken green policy and overseas aid commitments. The treaty also sets out how countries would share technology, newly discovered resources and funding. It would mean decisions would have to be made collectively through negotiations, rather than by individual countries going it alone. The UK government has previously been criticised by environmentalists for dragging its heels on ratification. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the treaty would help conserve "rare, valuable and important marine life of the high seas", safeguarding them against unsustainable fishing and industrial activities. Marine minister Emma Hardy said: "Without urgent action, [our oceans] will be irreversibly destroyed." During the conference, which finishes on Friday, the UK government also proposed to extend a ban on bottom trawling to more marine protected areas in English waters.


Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Funding cuts could harm progress on child labour as world misses key target
GENEVA, June 11 (Reuters) - The world has missed its target of eliminating child labour by 2025 and funding cuts threaten recent progress on reducing the numbers of children in work, a new joint report by two United Nations agencies said on Wednesday. The number of children in work worldwide has almost halved in the past 25 years but nearly 138 million were still involved in child labour in the past year, denied the right to learn and play, the International Labour Organization and UNICEF said. UNICEF's executive director Catherine Russell said funding cuts by donor countries threaten to undermine what she said had been encouraging signs on the issue in the last four years. Reductions in education and livelihood support programmes risk forcing more vulnerable families to send their children to work, she said. "Progress towards ending child labour is possible by applying legal safeguards, expanded social protection, investment in free, quality education... We must recommit to ensuring that children are in classrooms and playgrounds, not at work," Russell said in a statement. U.N. agencies have expressed alarm about the impact of drastic cuts implemented by the Trump administration in U.S. foreign aid, though the ILO-UNICEF report did not explicitly reference this issue. Though there are 22 million fewer children in work since 2020, some 54 million worldwide remain in hazardous work that could harm their health and development, the agencies said. The majority of children work in agriculture, while about a quarter are in services such as domestic work or selling goods in markets. Two-thirds of all child labour takes place in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for around 87 million children, with only a small reduction from 23.9% to 21.5% over the last four years. "The findings of our report offer hope and show that progress is possible. Children belong in school, not in work... We still have a long way to go before we achieve our goal of eliminating child labour," said ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo in a statement.