North Korea

• Launch capability
• Military space programs 
• Arms control

North Korea’s space program is intrinsically tied to its ballistic missile program, and both are run by North Korea’s military. At the center North Korea’s space program is the Taepodong missile, which the North Koreans have modified to use as a space launch vehicle. North Korea has conducted two tests of the missile, both of which ultimately failed. On August 31, 1998, North Korea tested the Taepodong-1 missile (pictured below) and described the test as a satellite launch.[1] The Taepodong-1 ballistic missile is believed to be a two-stage, liquid-fueled missile with an estimated range of 2,200 km.[2] The Taepodong-1 has only been tested once, as a space launch vehicle, in 1998. The Taepodong space launch vehicle that the North Koreans tested in 1998 is believed to have three stages. The first two stages of the rocket are similar to the ballistic missile, with a modified, solid-fueled third stage attached to the rocket instead of the missile’sDuring the 1998 Taepodong-1 test launch, North Korean authorities claimed to have launched a microsatellite known as the Kwangmyongsong, or Bright Lodestar, into orbit. Official North Korean sources declared that the satellite was intended to demonstrate the political might of the Communist regime in North Korea.[4] However, all reputable foreign sources, including the U.S. government, contested the satellite’s launch. Foreign sources never observed the satellite in orbit,[5] and U.S. radar tracked falling debris from the third stage.[6] Image: BBC News. 

On July 5, 2006, North Korea tested a Taepodong-2 ballistic missile, which has a longer estimated range than the Taepodong-1 variant, but the test failed after approximately 42 seconds of flight when the first stage of the missile malfunctioned and fell into the Sea of Japan.[7] North Korea could also use the longer-range Taepodong-2 as a satellite launch vehicle, although it has only been tested as a ballistic missile.

In mid-September 2008, Joseph Bermudez and Tim Brown of Jane’s Defence Weekly reported on the existence of a new North Korean ballistic missile launch site. The authors also posit that the facility could be used to launch space launch vehicles. Bermudez and Brown referred to the launch site as the Pongdong-ni Missile and Space Launch Facility after a nearby village.[8] The facility is located on the West coast of North Korea, about 30 miles from the Chinese border.[8] Based on available satellite imagery, the authors speculate that the facility includes a launch pad, a command and control tower, and a rocket engine test stand.[8] Although the launch site has been under construction since 2000,[8] it is not estimated to be fully operationally capable for missile or space launches until 2009 or 2010.[9]

North Korea’s space launch and ballistic missile programs have benefited from foreign assistance, and the country is also a major exporter of rocket and missile technology. For example, North Korea’s Nodong ballistic missiles appear to be derived from Russian SS-N-6 submarine launched missiles, and may have been extended for the Taepodong-2 first stage with Chinese turbopumps.[10] North Korea’s missile program received significant technology transfer in its development. North Korea shares its ballistic missile development with Iran and Pakistan, and advances and test data in one country are rapidly shared with others.[11] In particular, it is suspected that Pakistan supplied flight test data from the Ghauri-II (a rebranded Nodong) to North Korea, circumventing a self-imposed North Korean moratorium on ballistic missile flight tests from 1999 through mid-2006.[6, 12] Bermudez and Brown contend that the most recent demonstration of North Korean assistance with foreign rocket programs can be seen in Tehran’s February 2008 Safir space launch vehicle. The authors maintain that the Safir is based on North Korea’s Nodong missile.[7]

Footnotes

[1] “North Korea: Missile Overview,” Nuclear Threat Initiative, updated September 2008, at: http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/NK/Missile/index.html.  

[2] “North Korea’s Missile Programme,” BBC News, July 5, 2006, at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2564241.stm.  

[3] “Paektusan-1 Space Launch Vehicle (SLV): Technical Assessment,” Nuclear Threat Initiative website, updated May 2003, at: http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/NK/Missile/1709.html.  

[4] “North Korea’s Ballistic Missile Programme,” in North Korea’s Weapons Programmes: A Net Assessment, International Institute for Strategic Studies, January 21, 2004, at: http://www.iiss.org/publications/strategic-dossiers/north-korean-dossier/north-koreas-weapons-programmes-a-net-asses/north-koreas-nuclear-weapons-programme/.  

[5] John Pike and Steven Aftergood, “North Korea Space Guide,” Federation of the American Scientists website, updated September 8, 1998, at: http://www.fas.org/spp/guide/dprk/index.html.  

[6] Joseph Bermudez, “A History of Ballistic Missile Development in the DPRK,” CNS Occasional Paper #2, 1999, p. 24, at: http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/opapers/op2/index.htm.  

[7] Philippa Fogarty, “Mixed Result for Pyongyang’s Launches,” BBC News, July 13, 2006, at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5165580.stm.  

[8] Joseph Bermudez and Tim Brown, “Ready for Launch? North Korea’s New Missile Facility,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, September 16, 2008, subscription only.

[9] “N Korea ‘Builds News Missile Site,’” BBC News, September 11, 2008, at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7609718.stm.  

[10] Charles Vick, “Taep'o-dong 2,” GlobalSecurity.org website, updated March 20, 2007, at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/td-2.htm.   

[11] Charles Vick, “The Closely Related Collaborative North Korean, Iranian and Pakistani Strategic Space, Ballistic Missile and Nuclear Weapon Programs,” updated May 1, 2008, at: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/missile-development.htm.  

[12] Andrew Feickert and Alan Kronstadt, “Missile Proliferation and the Strategic Balance in South Asia,” U.S. Congressional Research Service report, RL31115, October 17, 2003, at: www.fas.org/spp/starwars/crs/RL32115.pdf.

{Updated 10/22/08}