Two years after North Korea built a brand new mansion compound in a secluded spot along the country’s east coast, leader Kim Jong Un appears to have upgraded another palace about 25 miles away from a military submarine development base.

These upgrades have been underway since late 2020, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, with three of Kim’s personal leisure boats also recently moving to a repair dock just down the coast in Wonsan. 

The mansion upgrades and boat work could be a sign that Kim is planning another visit to the region and even an inspection of the submarine under development at the Sinpho South Shipyard. In July 2019, the leisure boats appeared at two of Kim’s beach mansions when the North Korean leader publicly inspected the new submarine.

On Sunday, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that North Korea could reveal a finished submarine soon, citing anonymous sources. Meanwhile, researchers reported earlier this month that activity was detected at the Sinpho shipyard, possibly linked to the submarine development or an upcoming submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test.

NEW MANSION UPGRADES

Kim Jong Un’s latest mansion upgrade is taking place at the “Seoho” or “No. 72” palace compound near Hamhung city — the closest mansion compound to the Sinpho submarine base. Planet Labs satellite imagery shows that the roads and parking lot were repaved surrounding a 10-story building inside the compound starting in the last week of March 2021.

North Korea also built awnings covering a deck overlooking the ocean at the decades-old building in the last months of 2020, satellite imagery shows. 

The Daily NK reported in 2005 that the building’s floors were separated for use by different Kim family members. Kenji Fujimoto, the personal chef of former DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, claimed that Kim Jong Un could enjoy an NBA-regulation basketball court there as a kid. 

The Seoho complex has shown consistent signs of use in recent years, with large beach umbrellas appearing to be used and then taken down as recently as the summer of 2020. 

But while Fujimoto previously said that late leader Kim Jong Il’s favorite summer homes were the Seoho compound and a slightly larger mansion complex further south in Wonsan, current leader Kim Jong Un is known to frequent the Wonsan location in particular.

WHERE’S KIM JONG UN?

Kim could choose to take advantage of the new upgrades and stay at the Seoho mansions if he inspects the submarine at Sinpho again, but satellite imagery suggests that he likely stayed in his family’s old Wonsan compound or his newly-built Hodo Peninsula mansion when he last publicly inspected the submarine in 2019. 

North Korean state media reported on July 23, 2019 that Kim inspected a new submarine, intended to carry nuclear missiles, on an unspecified date. Such reports typically refer to inspections made on the previous day. 

On July 22, two of Kim’s luxury boats measuring up to 60 meters long (around 200 feet) were docked at both the Wonsan and Hodo mansions, with yachts and other floating craft attached to them, suggesting possible large-scale gatherings at these exclusive locations.

This timelapse of medium-resolution satellite imagery shows the above four pleasure boats moving from a parking area inside a special port in Wonsan to the repair dock at the south end of the port between early March and April 11, 2021. | Images: © 2021 Planet Labs Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission

Now, both of these boats — as well as a third of similar size — moved to a special repair dock in the main Wonsan bay starting in the second week of March 2021, according to Planet Labs satellite imagery. Similar activity came before their deployment to the mansions when Kim was in the area for the submarine inspection in July 2019, as well as just before the start of the summer of 2020.

On 15 out of 18 occasions since April 2017, Kim’s leisure boats appeared at the Wonsan mansion and other east coast compounds at the same time as his publicized visits to the area. In other words, if these boats are deployed again in the coming weeks, it could mean that Kim Jong Un arrived or is planning to visit the region.

North Korean state media reported that Kim inspected storm damage and recovery work close to the submarine base in Sinpho in his two most recent visits to the area in Sept. and Oct. 2020. However, it’s unclear whether or not he stopped by to inspect the submarine. 

Edited by Kelly Kasulis