North Korea’s hidden underground naval bases have been exposed in these
satellite images which reveal “one giant weakness” in their defences, an
analyst claims.
Amid a fresh outburst of aggression from the Kim regime, US-based
analyst Jacob Bogle has probed the North’s navy using photos available
to the public.
His research revealed more than a dozen subterranean maritime facilities
which the dictatorship can use to repair and refuel warships, as well
as launch attacks, in safety and secrecy.
The bases – one of which is less than a mile from a private Kim Jong-un
residence – also offer a place to shelter from enemies, but Mr Bogle
claims they have a crucial flaw.
“Kim Jong-un has invested huge sums of money in modernising the country’s conventional forces and related facilities,” he said.
“Improvements to their naval assets have already been seen across the country.
“But all underground facilities have one giant weakness: their entrances. Destroy those and whatever is inside becomes useless.”
Given North Korea’s attempts to develop submarine-launched nuclear
missiles, the significance of these bases could be enormous if war broke
out, Mr Bogle said.
“Unlike the US or UK, which only have a few submarine-related bases –
none of them underground – the fact that North Korea has so many creates
added challenges for any preemptive strike,” he said.
“It would require a near simultaneous attack on all of the bases to confidently knock out their submarine capability.
“Otherwise some vessels may escape and go on to threaten any adversarial forces in the area.
“Additionally, North Korea intends to build a submarine fleet capable of
firing nuclear weapons – submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
“Knowing where those submarines are housed prior to any future attack would be paramount.”
In images collected by Mr Bogle, several navy bases can be seen to have waterways leading from the sea and into tunnels.
While the exact scale of the tunnels is unknowable, some of them appear
to have two access points, allowing us to draw a line between the exit
and entrance to reveal the tunnel’s potential size.
“One cannot tell by looking at commercial satellite imagery how complicated their interiors are,” said Jacob.
“Do they have multiple side channels and galleries, for example?
“But it is likely that at least some of the larger bases contain more
than a single, narrow tunnelway within its respective mountain.”
It’s also possible that another submarine base at Changjon, close to the South Korean border, could be brought back into action.
It was closed during a period of co-operation between North and South,
but now the two are at odds again, with Kim Jong-un blowing up a shared
building in the border town of Kaesong on Tuesday.
