SCHEMING Kim Jong-un has constructed a new missile base disguised as a private golf course, satellite images reveal.
According to experts interviewed by The Sun, the golf course reminiscent of a James Bond villain’s lair includes typical features like sand traps, grass, and putting greens. However, these analysts suspect that these features are serving as a disguise for hidden launch pads and missile storage facilities.
The scope of North Korea’s leader’s nuclear and missile initiatives has remained largely unknown, with various sites dispersed throughout the reclusive nation.
Satellite images reveal Kim’s latest base, however, as he continues to ramp up his weapon development.
Photographs have unveiled what seems to be a secluded golf course situated close to a Kim family residence that was recently demolished in the Ryokpho area of southern Pyongyang.
But analysts from the Open Source Team at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute took a closer look.
Sam Lair, from the eagle-eyed team, said workers appeared to lay concrete across the valley site last summer to aid launch vehicles.
Wide roads and large concrete pads are telltale giveaways rocket man Kim wants to use the site to launch his missiles.
Grass was then used to cover the concrete base – and golf course-style features including sand traps added to not arouse suspicion.
Kim – whose father Kim Jong-il wildly claimed to have scored 11 holes in one in his first ever round of golf – has also had a building big enough to fit several intercontinental ballistic missile launchers constructed.
Research associate Sam said: “It seems the base has been disguised as a golf course by pouring concrete launch pads in fields and then covering them with turf or grass, manicured to have the appearance of a golf course.
“Moreover, sand traps have been added throughout the field with the launch pads.
“The large sections of concrete are one indication that it is a missile launch site.
“Another is the large, high-bay building nearby. The building is about 36 meters tall, large enough for long-range missile launchers to test their erector mechanisms indoors.
“Finally, the wide-radius turns that have been added to the roads around the facility would make it easier to drive a large transporter erector launcher.”
Analysts confirmed the base could be used to launch long-range missiles – though appears more operational at the moment.
It seems the base has been disguised as a golf course by pouring concrete launch pads in fields and then covering them with turf or grass, manicured to have the appearance of a gold course
Sam Lair
Sam added: “The facility seems to be complete, and has been since about last November, suggesting it could be used for testing anytime.”
Circular platforms have been installed at the base, which could serve as launch pads for missiles.
Kim has doubled down on his weapon development in recent years, with North Korea beginning studies into nuclear power in the 1950s.
The tyrant wants his nation to be a powerhouse on the nuclear and missile front, with ongoing efforts to elevate status and improve readiness.
North Korea shuts down ‘capitalist city’
By Elizabeta Ranxburgaj, Foreign News Reporter
NORTH Korea has unexpectedly blocked tourists from visiting the nation just weeks after the dictatorship bizarrely opened up its borders to some Western visitors.
Kim Jong-un has attempted to attract international travellers with a “capitalistic city” after the secretive country shut itself off from the world in January 2020.
The dictatorship slowly started to open up to Chinese and Russian tourists from 2023 but it only began accepting some Western tourists last month.
Kim had set up an experimental “capitalist city” to welcome some visitors under a strict itinerary.
These tours were in the northerly city of Rason – chillingly sitting right on the Russian and Chinese borders.
Despite this, Pyongyang mysteriously suspended these trips for unclear reasons, according to tour operators.
Travel agency Young Pioneer Tours wrote online: “We have been advised by our partners… that tours to Rason are currently paused.”
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Pyongyang has several nuclear and missile facilities that have not been revealed.
North Korea’s iron-fist regime is thought to have up to 20 undeclared ballistic missiles operating bases and support facilities.
But with shady Kim using tactics such as disguising them as golf courses there are likely to be more.
Sam added: “Before the recent construction and the installation of concrete, that area was farmland, so it was not a golf course previously.
“It does look like the estate nearby was demolished to prepare the area for the new missile site.
“The Kim family has residences all over the country, and many nearby since this site is not far from Pyongyang.
“One notable one would be the Samsok residence east of Pyongyang.”
Kim watched over North Korea’s latest rocket test last week as strategic cruise missiles were launched.
KCNA, the state news agency of North Korea, said the test was designed to warn “enemies, who are seriously violating the security environment of the (country) and fostering and escalating the confrontation environment”.
The launch off the west coast of the Korean peninsula was also pegged to demonstrate “readiness of its various nuke operation means”.
Kim, as quoted by KCNA, said: “What is guaranteed by powerful striking ability is the most perfect deterrence and defense capacity.”
