Mapping Progress Update #6

It has been nearly a year since my last full update on my progress on mapping the whole of the country, and progress has been great.

A year ago, I had mapped 10,000 sq. miles, or 21.48% of the country and I had around 5,500 military, domestic, economic, and propaganda places marked. It took me around a year to get to that point (remembering of course that I wasn't doing this every single day, and I'm still not always able to work on this).

Today, I've mapped out 26,137 sq. miles (56.15%) of the country (which is 46,541 sq. mi. in size). Of that, 8,219 sq. mi. has been mapped just since the start of 2015. My productivity has greatly increased since I decided to set a completion date: Dec. 31, 2015. And that includes combining my finds with the extensive original work of NKeconomywatch and Google Earth user "Planeman_".

To finish this year, I need to map an avg. of 78 square miles a day. So far, I'm averaging 83. That places me 5 days ahead of schedule right now and puts me on target to finishing 20 days early by year's end. Of course, something could happen and my average rise or fall.

As noted in an earlier update, to help with effective mapping, I divided the country into sections covering (roughly) 25 square miles. This map shows each section that I have mapped. The elevation is set so that each dot is 5 miles in diameter, thus, mostly covering the areas I have fully mapped.

 

Click for larger view.

In terms of items marked: 18,657 total items; 3,221 military (inc. DMZ, Airports & Road Blocks), 4,140 monuments, and 11,103 domestic & economic locations. Here are the specific numbers for a few select items: 389 anti-aircraft batteries which represent about 1,900 individual guns, 327 communication/cell towers, 364 electrical substations, and 145 town markets. I've also mapped out hundreds of miles of new roads, main irrigation canals, coastal fences, and border fences.

Included under the "military" heading are, 461 additional places along the DMZ, 140 DMZ related road blocks, and 76 airports, heliports, and aviation test facilities (6 hadn't been located before).

I've also marked all 23 current and former border crossings, twenty of which connect with China. Plus, 159 key mountains & local geographic high points.

Here's a few images to give you an idea of what all I've mapped.

All 76 aviation facilities. Click for larger view.

Electrical Substations of North Pyongan Province. 

Cell towers of Pyongyang. 

North Hwanghae Province's Anti-Aircraft Artillery Sites.

The red dots represent HARTS (Hardened Artillery Sites) in South Hwanghae Province near the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. On Nov. 23, 2010, North Korea bombed the South Korean island with 170 shells & rockets. Four were killed and 19 injured.

---Jacob Bogle, 4/10/15
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Major Landslide in North Hamgyong Province

Looking at imagery from Myongchon County, North Hamgyong Province (near the Mt. Chilbo National Park), I found what seems to have been a major landslide.

Due to North Korea's mountainous terrain and frequent floods, landslides are a fairly common occurrence, but this one consisted of a 900 foot high hillside collapsing.

Here's the area on June 19, 2011:

And after the landslide in 2013:

The crest of the hill is 894 feet above the valley floor below. The width of the collapse is nearly a kilometer, at 3,000 feet. It also interrupted normal runoff and thus created a small new lake (right-side of collapsed area). The lake covers about 4 acres (1.6 hectares). The exact coordinates are:  41° 7'33"N 129°30'39"E.

Here's a side view of the area before and after the event:

In June of 2011, there was major flooding in South Korea that also affected parts of North Korea. While it's impossible to tell when exactly this landslide occurred given available information, it's conceivable that the flooding in 2011 played a role.

The Mt. Chilbo area is a very popular tourist destination and is also an important ecological region. According to UNESCO, it holds 16 endemic plant species, 30 endangered plant and animal species, and has 132 medicinal plant species. The geologic origins of the Mt. Chilbo area come from volcanic eruptions relating to the Paektu Volcanic Zone (though, this particular area hasn't been volcanically active for millions of years). 

--Jacob Bogle, 3/30/2015
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Kumgang Airbase Update

Three years ago, a new airbase appeared in a mountain valley 10.4 miles (16.7 km) west of the city of Chanjon, and 5.3 miles (8.9 km) north of the smaller town of Kumgang, Kwangon Province.

Changjon has had a number of improvements since 2005, including a new golf course, and a renovated harbor. It's also home to a naval base. Of course, Kumgang is nearby the very popular Mount Kumgang park.

The airbase was built between 2010 and October 2012. It has a 3,275 foot (1 km) long single runway and basic support facilities. It replaces the much smaller grass airstrip that once served the Kumgang area.

Here are the exact coordinates: 38°42'5"N 127°59'45"E (link opens Google Maps).

(Click image for larger view)

The facility has several aircraft dispersal pens, bunkers for either storage or maintenance, and 3 small fuel tanks. It will likely be used for civilian purposes, but as it stands, it can be considered primarily a military asset given its structure. 

Despite being fairly new, and the levee built to divert the nearby river (North Korea has built many runways very close to rivers, which doesn't seem prudent), the place seems somewhat deserted and has been flooded at least once.

Also, between 2007 and 2012, the surrounding area saw some upgrades too. A new communications tower was built as well as new housing.

There are no defensive artillery emplacements (that I can find) which typically guard airbases of this size, but there are a few small military units up and down the valley. The town of Kumgang itself, though, is protected by 3 anti-aircraft artillery emplacements which contain a combined 18 guns.

When it comes to completing projects, North Korea can accomplish seeming wonders in a short time (except the Ryugyong Hotel, and the fact that most things aren't built very sturdy), but when it comes to making good use of them, things tend to take a while. 

The newest images freely available date to October 2013 but given that so much effort is being placed on Pyongyang and Wonsan, I don't think the Kumgang area will see much more activity for a while.

--Jacob Bogle, 3/28/2015

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North Korea's Stealth Ship-s

In February 2015, North Korean state media released images of their newest naval asset - a stealth ship.

DPRK Stealth Vessel

Media outlets around the world reported on the "official" recognition of the craft, however there's definitely more than one.

The vessel, which is similar to a hovercraft (something the North Koreans seem to be fixated on), features an angled hull and other features which help to scatter radar. You'll note the similarities in design between the small North Korean ship and the British HMS Daring destroyer seen here:

British HMS Daring

These "surface effect ships" use hovercraft technology to reach high speeds without the need to decrease the weight of needed weaponry.

North Korea has been trying to modernize its military for two decades, but change comes slow to an overly bureaucratic nation severely low on funds. 

The specific ship reported on has been known since 2009, when it was visible on satellite imagery of the Munchon Naval Base (11 miles north of Wonsan).

Ship onshore in Munchon, 2009.

However, after reviewing images from Wonsan (and comparing image dates), North Korea has at least two of these vessels. Both ships can be seen in their respective docks on images dated 10/3/2009.

Wonsan ship. 

The Wonsan ship can actually be seen on images dating as far back as 2002.

This class of vessel is armed with two 30mm automated close-in weapon systems (CIWS) which is based on the Soviet AK-630, four indigenously-designed 14.5mm rotary cannons, a new surface-to-air missile system, plus two mounts for two of the lethal anti-ship missiles. The key weapon system is the Kh-35 anti-ship missile system.

--Jacob Bogle, 2/12/2015
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