April 10, 2019, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
On the eve of President Trump’s summit with ROK president Moon Jae-in, commercial satellite imagery acquired on April 7 shows that, although not conclusive, North Korea may be preparing for a parade to honor Kim Il-sung’s birthday (April 15) or KPA Foundation Day (April 25).
April 1, 2019, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
Commercial satellite imagery of North Korea’s Yongbyon Nuclear Research Facility acquired on March 28th shows normal operations with a low-level of activity throughout the facility... Beyond Parallel datasets have found that North Korea will engage in provocative acts on average…
March 25, 2019, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
Satellite imagery acquired on March 21, 2019 and over the past six months indicates that the No. 17 Explosives Factory near Hamhung is active. While no significant changes have occurred with its infrastructure during this period, the factory was expanded during 2012 with the construction of a large mixing/casting facility capable of producing large solid-propellant rocket motors for ballistic missiles.
March 19, 2019, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
While recent activity at the Sohae Launch facility appears to have returned it to operational status after DPRK dismantlement measures earlier in the summer, there has been no activity of significance at the vertical engine test stand or launch pad since early March.
March 9, 2019, by Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. and Victor Cha—
Commercial satellite imagery acquired on both March 6 and March 8, 2019, shows that North Korea has continued preparations on the launch pad and the vertical engine test stand at the Sohae Launch Facility. Based on past practices, these activities could be consistent with preparations for the delivery of a rocket to the launch pad or engine to the test stand; or, they could be North Korean coercive bargaining tactics after the failed Hanoi summit.
July 4, 2017—
North Korea launched a land-based, intermediate range ballistic missile from North Pyongan province that flew for 37 minutes and 933 km (580 miles) in the morning of July 4. CSIS Beyond Parallel data analytics finds a two-week provocation window under Kim Jong-un after U.S.-ROK summits. We should expect more provocations to come.
May 10, 2017, by Victor Cha and Lisa Collins—
Exit polls from the May 9th election in South Korea indicate that Moon Jae-in will be the country’s next president. Moon will enter office after more than six months of domestic political turmoil following the impeachment of former South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Under these circumstances, Moon is likely to face a series of domestic and foreign policy challenges early in his presidential term.
September 9, 2016, by Victor Cha—
North Korean nuclear and missile capabilities are developing faster than world leaders and experts have anticipated.
.. North Korea conducted a fifth nuclear test on September 9, 2016 at the Punggye-ri nuclear testing facility The explosive yield of the test was assessed by experts to be 10 kilotons, higher than any other…