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How satellite helped open up North Korea’s airspace
Back in 1998 the International Air Transport Association (IATA) improved its network connection into North Korea by linking the country’s air traffic control system via satellite. The link, via Asiasat 2, was outlined in a presentation that was sent to me soon after. I hadn’t been able to find it for years, but just located a…
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DPRK targets South media, but coordinates are wrong
North Korea issued one of its most direct threats yet on South Korean media outlets on Monday. [This post has been updated, see below] The threats, to stage “a merciless sacred war” and to blow up “dens of monstrous crimes” came after South Korean media coverage of the Korean Children’s Union anniversary events that are currently…
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More anti-Lee vitriol, and a song
The North Korean media spent a second day on Tuesday heaping harsh criticism on South Korean president Lee Myung Bak and issuing threats against him and others. On Monday, the country’s official media carried a statement attributed to the “Special Operation Action Team of the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army” that threatened to “burn…
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DPRK issues new threat against Lee, SK media
North Korea came out swinging on Monday against the South Korean government, promising to “burn down” Lee Myung Bak and the country’s conservative media “within three to four minutes, or shorter than that, by unprecedented means.” The threats, which are stronger than the normal anti-Lee rhetoric that comes from the country’s media each day, followed a speech…
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English transcript of Kim Jong Un’s speech
Here’s an English translation of the speech delivered by Kim Jong Un on April 15th, 2012, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang: [Update: I should have originally mentioned, this is not an official translation. The DPRK has, to my knowledge, published no transcript of the speech.] Heroic officers of the army, the navy, the air…
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TV presenters have new double-Kim pin
Sometimes it’s the little things that mark larger changes in North Korean society. [This post has been updated, see below] As the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung this Sunday, April 15, announcers on state television have begun wearing new pins that have two faces on them.…
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Located: North Korea’s satellite command center
After North Korea invited international media to its satellite control center it was only a matter of time before it was located on satellite images. The building, distinctive for two round domes (possible radar domes) on the rooftop at each end (see below), made it fairly easy to spot. And that’s what’s happened. Most of…
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WPK Conference pictures
Launch of the Unha-3 rocket and Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite isn’t the only big thing happening in Pyongyang this week. As the city gears up to mark 100 years since the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea is holding its conference. During Wednesday’s session, the conference named Kim Jong Il the…
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Latest satellite images of Sohae launch facility
As the hours tick down towards North Korea’s planned launch of its Unha-3 rocket, DigitalGlobe has published fresh satellite images of the Sohae launch facility. The images include some taken on Monday, April 9, and show little has changed since reporters visited the site a day earlier. The images are reproduced below. There is an…
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Launch preparations underway at Sohae
The latest satellite imagery of North Korea’s Sohae Launch Facility shows what appears to be preparations for the planned mid-April launch of a Unha-3 rocket. The pictures, from GeoEye, show several vehicles in the launch pad area, apparently taking in part in work ahead of the launch. There has also been progress on several construction…
