Ancient royal tombs in North Korea appear to have been opened, damaged



Investigations Ancient royal tombs in North Korea appear to have been opened, damaged Royal tombs contain rare murals and objects of excellent craftsmanship and require technical knowledge to carefully open Jacob Bogle August 4, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Northern Kaesong Tombs \| Image: Google Earth, edited by NK Pro Seven Goryeo-era (Koryo) tombs, including two within the official buffer zone of the Kaesong city UNESCO World Heritage Site, appear to have been damaged or otherwise opened, according to high-resolution satellite imagery, raising questions about the safety of archaeological sites within North Korea. The ancient city that is now Kaesong was settled in 918. For a period of 434 years, it served as the primary Korean capital under successive Goryeo and Joseon rulers, until it lost its capital status to Seoul (Hanyang) in 1394. As the former capital, the Kaesong region hosts dozens of royal tombs and the Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01Crossing the Yalu: Why China and North Korea want to open long-stalled bridge 02A decade apart, two DMZ mine blasts highlight a new inter-Korean reality 03Chinese authorities seize smuggled goods bound for North Korea: records 04Likely Russian ship docks in North Korea’s Rason port for first time since May 05Trump doesn’t need a grand deal with Kim, but rather small coordinated actions 06North Korean trade with China rises 3.7% in August thanks to wig exports: data 07North Korea tensions expose Seoul’s uneasy relationship with UN Command 08North Korea’s politburo meeting hints at secret changes to senior officials

Investigations

Ancient royal tombs in North Korea appear to have been opened, damaged

Royal tombs contain rare murals and objects of excellent craftsmanship and require technical knowledge to carefully open

Jacob Bogle August 4, 2026

Ancient royal tombs in North Korea appear to have been opened, damaged

Northern Kaesong Tombs | Image: Google Earth, edited by NK Pro

Seven Goryeo-era (Koryo) tombs, including two within the official buffer zone of the Kaesong city UNESCO World Heritage Site, appear to have been damaged or otherwise opened, according to high-resolution satellite imagery, raising questions about the safety of archaeological sites within North Korea.

The ancient city that is now Kaesong was settled in 918. For a period of 434 years, it served as the primary Korean capital under successive Goryeo and Joseon rulers, until it lost its capital status to Seoul (Hanyang) in 1394.

As the former capital, the Kaesong region hosts dozens of royal tombs and the

01Crossing the Yalu: Why China and North Korea want to open long-stalled bridge
02A decade apart, two DMZ mine blasts highlight a new inter-Korean reality
03Chinese authorities seize smuggled goods bound for North Korea: records
04Likely Russian ship docks in North Korea’s Rason port for first time since May
05Trump doesn’t need a grand deal with Kim, but rather small coordinated actions
06North Korean trade with China rises 3.7% in August thanks to wig exports: data
07North Korea tensions expose Seoul’s uneasy relationship with UN Command
08North Korea’s politburo meeting hints at secret changes to senior officials

Ancient royal tombs in North Korea appear to have been opened, damaged

LATEST ANALYSIS

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Jacob Bogle