{"id":65642,"date":"2025-11-28T22:54:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T13:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/?p=65642"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T04:37:20","slug":"from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\/","title":{"rendered":"From fairways to firepower: Inside North Korea&#8217;s camouflaged missile program"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words\">The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was held on Oct. 31\u2013Nov. 1, in Gyeongju, a city in South Korea&#8217;s North Gyeongsang province. Just one week before U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on Oct. 29 for the two-day summit, North Korea launched a new type of missile from the Ryokpo district of Pyongyang on Oct. 22. North Korea threatened the world with its flagrant demonstration of its military capabilities while blatantly disregarding the United States&#8217; repeated proposals for talks without any preconditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words\">The missile launch site in Pyongyang&#8217;s Ryokpo district is camouflaged as a compact nine-hole golf course built on the former site of a residence (or guesthouse) belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On several previous occasions, North Korea has also launched intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang. North Korea takes pains to deceive the international community by using nominally civilian facilities for military purposes. In this article, I examine the current state of two camouflaged missile launch sites in Pyongyang through recent satellite images.<\/p>\n<h4><b>Pyongyang\u2019s first disguised missile launch site: Nine-hole golf course in Ryokpo District<\/b><\/h4>\n<figure id=\"attachment_65643\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65643\" style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-65643\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4.png 1280w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4-747x420.png 747w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4-696x392.png 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide1-4-1068x601.png 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-65643\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This compact nine-hole golf course was built in the Ryokpo district of Pyongyang. This is where North Korea launched a new type of missile on Oct. 22, just days before U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s scheduled visit to Korea. (Google Earth)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was a residence (or possibly a guesthouse) in Ryokpo district on the outskirts of Pyongyang that was mainly used by Kim Jong Un and other members of the dynasty\u2019s \u201croyal family.\u201d NK Pro, an online outlet specializing in North Korea, was the first to notice the residence\u2019s demolition in satellite images from late April 2024. After the residence and associated greenhouses were torn down, a compact nine-hole golf course was built on the meadows and crop fields running through a valley in the area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to satellite images from Google Earth, nine 20-meter-wide putting greens were built along the meadow, along with nine sand bunkers of various shapes. This is a classic example of the way North Korea conceals its missile launch sites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two items are conspicuously missing from this compact golf course. No flagsticks (or shadows) can be observed at the cups of the nine putting greens. Conceivably, the managers might not have bothered to put up flagsticks, or they may simply not be visible on satellite imagery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Secondly, there are no water hazards on the golf course. To be sure, water features are not absolutely essential for play, although they are a commonly enjoyed part of the game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last month, a new kind of missile was launched from the Ryokpo district compact golf course. North Korea\u2019s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the launch of two projectiles from a new weapon system\u2014in other words, hypersonic missiles\u2014from the Pyongyang district on Oct. 22.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hypersonic missiles are regarded as being faster, and also tougher to intercept, than standard ballistic missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korea launched its new hypersonic missiles just one week before Trump arrived in South Korea on Oct. 29 and other world leaders gathered at the APEC summit in Gyeongju on Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Coming before such a weighty global event, the hypersonic missile launch takes on strategic overtones as a showcase of North Korea\u2019s military capabilities and an implicit threat to countries around the world. Pyongyang\u2019s warning message capstones its continuous stonewalling of Trump\u2019s multiple calls for talks without preconditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One reason for North Korea\u2019s snubbing of Trump\u2019s repeated overtures is Kim\u2019s traumatic memory of the breakdown in dialogue during his previous summit with Trump in Hanoi in 2019 and the distrust resulting from that humiliating failure. But Kim\u2019s behavior also appears to be grounded in his confidence that he can sustain the regime and strengthen his rule without negotiating with the US thanks to the political, economic and military support provided by his dependable sponsors in Russia and China.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Pyongyang\u2019s second disguised missile launch site: Sunan International Airport<\/b><\/h4>\n<figure id=\"attachment_65644\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65644\" style=\"width: 1280px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-65644\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3.png 1280w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3-747x420.png 747w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3-696x392.png 696w, https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3-1068x601.png 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-65644\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) have been launched on several occasions from the international airport in the Sunan district of Pyongyang. While Sunan is ostensibly a civilian international airport, it doubles as a major strategic military facility for North Korea complete with missile support facilities. (WorldView-2)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">North Korea\u2019s only international airport is located in the Sunan district of Pyongyang. Despite being ostensibly a \u201ccivilian\u201d airport, it is owned and operated by the Korean People\u2019s Army and is occasionally used as a missile launch site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This sleepy country town was turned into an airstrip during the Korean War through the slave labor of POWs from the U.N. forces. Sunan International Airport is thus a tragic site built on the backs of young foreign soldiers, many of whom died during the construction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The airport originally only had one runway on the southern end. But a second runway was built on the airport\u2019s northern end in 1989 on the occasion of the 13<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> World Festival of Youth and Students. According to NamuWiki (a Korean crowd-sourced online encyclopedia), North Korea is planning to relocate the Kang Kon Military Academy, which is currently seven kilometers east of Sunan airport, and building a third terminal and a third runway in its place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kang Kon Military Academy was formerly used as a site of public executions. It is rumored that the academy is where Jang Song Thaek, the husband of Kim Jong Un\u2019s aunt, was blasted by antiaircraft guns, but all that can be known with any certainty is that Jang was killed in Pyongyang.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sunan airport has been used to launch ICBMs and similar ballistic missiles on several prior occasions. The site of the first and second launches of a new ICBM model called the Hwasong-17 (on Feb. 27 and Mar. 5, 2022) is marked with a star on the top right corner of the satellite image above. Those ICBMs were launched from transporter-erector-launchers (TELs) on a taxiway connecting the southern and northern runways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About 1.5 kilometers away from Sunan\u2019s southern runway is the Sil-li Ballistic Missile Support Facility. This base maintains the TELs used for launching ICBMs and is capable of both storing and handling technical support for large ballistic missiles. Given the airport\u2019s readiness to launch ICBMs\u2014along with the assembly, inspection and storage capabilities at the Sil-li support facility\u2014Sunan International Airport is considered a military complex of great strategic importance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/20251124-4\/\">Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was held on Oct. 31\u2013Nov. 1, in Gyeongju, a city in South Korea&#8217;s North Gyeongsang province. Just one week before U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on Oct. 29 for the two-day summit, North Korea launched a new type of missile from the Ryokpo district of Pyongyang [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":65644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[644],"tags":[1270,1300,1405,1425,1646,3236,274,691,724,1078],"class_list":["post-65642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-analysis-and-opinion","tag-trump","tag-hwasong","tag-satellite-imagery","tag-satellite","tag-punishment","tag-bruce-songhak-chung-columns","tag-pyongyang","tag-military","tag-kim-jong-un","tag-missiles"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From fairways to firepower: Inside North Korea&#039;s camouflaged missile program - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From fairways to firepower: Inside North Korea&#039;s camouflaged missile program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was held on Oct. 31\u2013Nov. 1, in Gyeongju, a city in South Korea&#8217;s North Gyeongsang province. Just one week before U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on Oct. 29 for the two-day summit, North Korea launched a new type of missile from the Ryokpo district of Pyongyang [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-28T13:54:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-07T04:37:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Slide2-3.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bruce Songhak Chung\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bruce Songhak Chung\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bruce Songhak Chung\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c339cc714b61bed249d80fbba0476a11\"},\"headline\":\"From fairways to firepower: Inside North Korea&#8217;s camouflaged missile program\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-28T13:54:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-07T04:37:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1095,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Slide2-3.png\",\"keywords\":[\"trump\",\"hwasong\",\"satellite imagery\",\"satellite\",\"punishment\",\"Bruce Songhak Chung Columns\",\"pyongyang\",\"military\",\"kim jong un\",\"missiles\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analysis &amp; Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/\",\"name\":\"From fairways to firepower: Inside North Korea's camouflaged missile program - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Slide2-3.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-28T13:54:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-07T04:37:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/from-fairways-firepower-inside-north-korea-camouflaged-missile-program\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Slide2-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Slide2-3.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"New intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) have been launched on several occasions from the international airport in the Sunan district of Pyongyang. While Sunan is ostensibly a civilian international airport, it doubles as a major strategic military facility for North Korea complete with missile support facilities. 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Part of the Unification Media Group (UMG) consortium.\",\"email\":\"dailynkenglish@uni-media.net\",\"telephone\":\"82-2-732-6998\",\"legalName\":\"DailyNK\",\"foundingDate\":\"2004-12-01\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"1\",\"maxValue\":\"10\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c339cc714b61bed249d80fbba0476a11\",\"name\":\"Bruce Songhak Chung\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/bruce-s-chung-profile-picture-daily-nk-e1776758604448-150x150.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/bruce-s-chung-profile-picture-daily-nk-e1776758604448-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dailynk.com\\\/english\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/bruce-s-chung-profile-picture-daily-nk-e1776758604448-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Bruce Songhak Chung\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Bruce S. Chung previously worked for the Korea Forest Research Institute and the South Korean government\u2019s intelligence agency, and is currently the head of the Satellite Analysis Center at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy. Bruce received his Ph.D. in remote sensing and GIS from the University of Idaho in the United States. 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