Kim Family Golf Course Transformed into North Korean Missile Base
6 March, 2025 Launch pads on the field. Picture source: NK News, Planet Labs (November 6, 2024), edited by the open source team at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute. North Korea has repurposed the site of the Kim family golf course into a new base for long-range ballistic missiles, satellite imagery shows.
NK News released satellite images of the facility. The base is situated in southern Pyongyang and has been identified by NK News as a potential launch system. Several analysts have confirmed that it is likely designed to launch long-range missiles.
It is located near the former location of the Kim family mansion, which was demolished last year. The golf course had been in place for decades, making it an ideal choice for disguising a missile base.
A Hwasong-18 ICBM is launched from a covered concrete launch pad in eastern Pyongyang. Image: KCNA (July 13, 2023)
Over the summer, construction crews poured concrete into the valley and covered it with grass and sand, creating artificial pitches that resemble a golf course.
A building, large enough to house multiple mobile launchers, was also constructed nearby.
A photo of the object compared to a similar building. Picture source: NK News, Google Earth (June 25, 2021), KCNA (May 18, 2024). Edited by the open-source team at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute
The facility features circular platforms, which analysts suggest may serve as launch pads for missiles.
Additionally, reinforced roads and wide-radius turns have been built, likely to accommodate large missile launchers.
Launch pads. Picture source: Planet Labs (November 6, 2024 and October 28, 2023), edited by NK Pro
North Korea's Expanding Missile Program
In late February, North Korea reportedly tested a new cruise missile with a mobile chassis, intended to target concrete buildings. It was called "strategic".
The exercises off the west coast of North Korea took place on the morning of Wednesday, February 26, local time. They were observed by Kim Jong-un.
Launch of a cruise missile in North Korea. February 2025.
Photo credits: KNCA
This missile launch was the first since January 25, when North Korea tested a long-range submarine-launched cruise missile, the Pulhwasal-3-31.
The initial test of this missile took place on January 24 from a ground-based launcher.
A follow-up test from a submarine took place on February 28, 2024.