October 21, 2021, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
North Korea test-fired a “new type” of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on October 19, 2021, from waters in the Sinpo area. The test launch of the new SLBM is one of a series of recent provocative missile tests that demonstrate advancements in the survivability of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
October 7, 2021, by Min-Jung Kim—
On January 22, 2021, a controversial bill was proposed by the Ministry of Unification of South Korea. If radio broadcasting to North Korea is subjected as indicated, the bill can have a far greater impact in the United States than the Anti-Leaflet Law has, as most of the radio broadcasting activities to North Korea by South Korean nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are funded by the U.S. government or U.S. citizens.
October 4, 2021, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha, Andy Dinville and Jennifer Jun—
Food security is a perennial domestic concern for North Korea. This report utilizes remote sensing analysis to understand the current condition of North Korea’s food production and crop yields that the country will depend on for the coming year. .. This article was originally published as a CSIS Korea Chair Platform on October 4, 2021.…
September 30, 2021, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr.—
While North Korea’s public demonstration of a rail-mobile missile launch platform earlier this month may have caught some by surprise, the country’s interest in developing such a capability reports back several decades... This article was originally published as a CSIS Korea Chair Platform. North Korea’s demonstration of…
September 8, 2021, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
Thirteen satellite images of the Sinpo South Shipyard and its environs collected between April 21 and September 1, 2021, provide an opportunity to update the status of the facility. While no indications were observed in the imagery suggesting preparations for the launching of the much-anticipated new ballistic missile submarine or preparations for a submarine-launched ballistic missile test, it is important to note that North Korea maintains the capability to undertake any of these on short notice.
August 9, 2021, by Victor Cha and Dana Kim—
To document the trajectory of South Korea’s national response efforts against the spread of COVID-19, the CSIS Korea Chair created a timeline of events outlining policies and other measures implemented to date... This timeline was originally published on CSIS. South Korea saw its first confirmed COVID-19 case…
August 3, 2021, by Robert King—
The demonstrations in Cuba are not just a time for North Korea to demonstrate solidarity. There is a good possibility that these events are a concern to some North Korea’s leaders because what happened in Cuba might also happen in their own country.
July 19, 2021, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
This is the fourth of several reports providing a unique view of the Sinpo South Shipyard, Sinpo area, and Mayang-do navy facilities using a unique high off-nadir (HON) image collected by Maxar Technologies during April 2021. This report looks at the abandoned Kumho-ri Light Water Reactor (LWR) Site on North Korea's northeast coast.
July 15, 2021, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
The Sinpo Shipyard is the counterpart to the Sinpo South Shipyard and focuses primarily on the production, maintenance, and repair of small fishing vessels. To a lesser degree, it has also been involved in the production, maintenance, and repair of small Korean Peoples’ Navy combatants. Since about 2009, the graving dock at the shipyard – one of the largest in North Korea – has played a crucial role in maintaining the operational status, repair, maintenance, and scrapping of the nation’s submarine force.
July 7, 2021, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
The Mayang-do Navy Shipyard and submarine bases are the largest facilities of their kind in North Korea. Using unique off-nadir imagery collection, this report provides a close-up focus of these facilities, including views of the ROMEO class and SANGO class submarines, and Kim Jong-un’s yacht.
