North Korea is expected to use the Dongchang-ri launch site in North Pyongan Province, but South Korean military officials say the body of the rocket is not yet visible at the launch site. It is believed to be in the process of being moved by train.
Defense reporter Kim Tae-hoon examines the North Korean move.
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Long-range rocket bodies for satellite launches are usually built at the Sanyongdong Ordnance Factory in Pyongyang.
They are loaded onto trains and transported at very low speeds to Dongchang-ri in North Pyongan’s Tongsan County to avoid damaging the equipment.
“The rocket body is not yet identified at the Dongchang-ri launch site,” said a military official.
This means it is believed to be in the train transportation stage.
The train must be close to Dongchang-ri, as North Korea has declared that it can launch from 0:00 a.m. the day after tomorrow (Jan. 31).
[Shin Hyung-woo, Chief Analyst, Korea National Security Forum: As the launch is imminent, it is likely that most of the rocket parts have been moved to Dongchang-ri, and full-scale assembly will take place once the rocket body arrives].
Once the rocket body arrives at Dongchang-ri, it will be loaded into the launch facility in the order of first stage, second stage, third stage and satellite for final assembly메이저놀이터.
Which launch facility at Dongchang-ri will be utilized is also of interest.
North Korea is building the new launch facility near the site where it launched long-range rockets in 2012 and 2016.
If this rocket has a different large Baekdusan engine than the previous ones, it is possible that it will be launched from the new facility.
The rocket is believed to be a reconnaissance military satellite.
Reconnaissance satellites are notable because the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published a map of Kim Jong Un’s territory on July 17, but it is unclear how capable they are.
The ROK military is preparing to intercept North Korean rocket debris in case it falls into its territorial waters, while at the same time, if the debris falls into the West Sea, the ROK military plans to rush a ship to collect it immediately.