North Korean missile facilities updated to raise morale: think tank

KYODO
June 11, 2024

North Korea has been refurbishing its ballistic missile operating bases, with a particular weight on replacing outdated housing and improving food availability, a U.S. think tank said Monday.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, which released satellite images of three such bases in North Korea, said that the observed changes made during the past five years indicate "a concerted effort to continue improving the quality of life and morale of the Strategic Force troops and their families."

At one of the three, called Kal-gol Missile Operating Base, located about 125 kilometers north of Seoul, the images showed the construction of more modern housing and the enlargement of what seems to be a livestock facility, according to CSIS.

It said the project to rebuild three housing areas there began in late 2021 and two of them had been completed, adding the third will likely be finished by the end of the year.

Despite international criticism, North Korea shows no signs of relenting in its development of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons. It is currently deepening military cooperation with Russia.

According to U.S. and other Western officials, North Korea has provided missiles and munitions for Russia to use in its invasion of Ukraine.