April 22, 2025, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
The Yongdok-tong Nuclear High Explosive Test Facility is the only known operating facility in the country for testing designs and components for high-explosive detonation of nuclear weapons. This is the most comprehensive report of this secret facility currently available at the unclassified level.
October 21, 2024, by Sydney Seiler—
This first appeared as a…
October 14, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Satellite image of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Testing Facility acquired on October 4, 2024, a few days before the rapid escalation of tension in the peninsula, shows that the facility continues to be well maintained... Close-up view of the area around the portal to Tunnel No. 3 (South Portal). Click…
September 24, 2024, by Victor Cha—
In this groundbreaking book, the leading scholar and practitioner Victor D. Cha shines a light into the “black box” of North Korea and draws critical lessons for the possible reunification of Korea after many decades of division... 2024, Columbia University Press "[The Black Box] calls on privileged insights into North Korea. Peace,…
July 29, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Despite the goal of advancing denuclearization of the Korean peninsula through leader-to-leader exchanges in 2018 and 2019, thermal infrared (TIR) imagery of the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center around the summit dates reveals limited impact on Yongbyon’s overall operational status.
June 27, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Part 3 of this series builds upon the methodology and findings presented in Part 1, offering a deeper dive into the operational nuances of the Radiochemistry Lab and the centrifuge plant... Thermal infrared (TIR) analysis via LANDSAT 8 and 9 imagery over two years provides key…
June 26, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Part 2 of this series builds upon the methodology and findings presented in Part 1, offering a deeper dive into the operational nuances of the 5MWe Reactor and the Experimental Light Water Reactor... Closeup of normalized land surface temperature calculated from daytime LANDSAT 8 TIR image taken July…
June 17, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
TIR (TIR) analysis via LANDSAT 8 and 9 imagery over two years provides key insights into Yongbyon nuclear facilities' operations, highlighting the intricate strengths and limitations of thermal imagery for operational assessment... Overview of the normalized land surface temperature calculated from daytime LANDSAT 8 thermal infrared (TIR)…
April 10, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
Recent satellite image of the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility indicates that North Korea continues to be committed to maintaining the general health of the facility... This April 2, 2024, image of the area around the new portal to Tunnel No.…
January 23, 2024, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha and Jennifer Jun—
The first open-source analysis of declassified satellite imagery suggests that the construction of North Korea's Punggye-ri Nuclear Testing Facility started as early as 1985 to 1986... The SPOT 1 satellite image from September 23, 1987, shows the Punggye-ri Nuclear Testing Facility…
