It has been almost two years since North Korea launched the Unha-3 SLV intended to place a satellite in orbit. With the completion of construction activities at Sohae, particularly the modification of the gantry tower and launch pad, the North seems ready to resume activities at this site. If the political decision was made tomorrow—and of course no one knows whether it will or not—Pyongyang could conduct a new Unha launch by the end of the year.
Kim, during a visit to the North's newly-built satellite command centre, urged scientists to work harder to "further glorify the (North) as a space power," state-run KCNA said."The status of the (North) as a satellite producer-launcher remains unchanged though the hostile forces deny it and its space development can never be abandoned, no matter who may oppose," Kim was quoted as saying.
Recent commercial satellite imagery shows new construction at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station (“Tongchang-ri”), specifically at the site used to launch the Unha space launch vehicle (SLV), most recently in 2012. While the upgrading of the gantry to support a space launch vehicle larger than the Unha was essentially completed by late 2014, Pyongyang has been further modifying the launch area to include a new support building at the east end of the pad as well as a platform that appears to move along rails from that building to the launch tower.While the exact purpose of this building remains unclear, one possibility is that the North Koreans are building a complex similar to facilities observed in China, such as at the Jiuquan Launch Center, that include buildings where the launch vehicle is assembled, processed, and checked, then placed on a movable platform and rolled to the launch tower. As work moves to completion, a more definitive conclusion will be possible.[1][2]
VIDEO of Kim Jong Un watching submarine missile launch!
