A large-scale construction project that recently started at a coastal missile base will be North Korea’s second large new naval base on the east coast, according to NK Pro analysis.

State media on Thursday published photos of leader Kim Jong Un inspecting “major naval base” construction on the east coast the previous day, without disclosing the number of sites or their locations.

NK Pro has geolocated the visit to two places in Kangwon Province by comparing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and Korean Central Television (KCTV) photos with satellite imagery.

One is at a small surface-to-air missile base in Thongchon County, south of Wonsan, where NK Pro was first to report on large-scale demolition and construction starting in July.

The other is north of Wonsan in Munchon at a naval base construction project that began in 2014 before going dormant for years.

KCNA’s reporting on Thursday marks Kim’s third public visit to the Munchon project and his first to Thongchon, amid an ongoing push to modernize the North Korean navy.

BRAND NEW BASE IN THONGCHON

Two of five photos published by KCNA in its report on Kim’s naval base project visit and two more aired by KCTV on Thursday show Kim standing next to a lagoon called Lake Tongjong at the Thongchon missile site, NK Pro analysis shows.

KCNA published a separate report on Kim inspecting housing construction in Thongchon, but it did not mention that many of the new homes were built for people displaced by the naval base project.

Dredging vessels appear in the lagoon in the background of some photos, conducting work on what satellite imagery suggests are efforts to reclaim land or possibly even build an expansive new quay for mooring vessels.

Planet Labs satellite imagery taken in recent weeks shows slow and steady construction across a 1,400-acre (600 hectares) area around the lagoon and to the west near Jasan beach.

The scale of the infrastructural work, including building new roads, jetties and possibly opening a permanent channel into the lagoon, suggests it could be years before the base is finished and able to host North Korea’s new warships and submarines. 

One 5,000-ton destroyer was completed on the east coast this year, but it has remained docked at an old naval base on Mayang Island without moving since its deployment ceremony in September. At least one larger warship is now under construction on the east coast under Kim’s orders to build one or more such vessels on each coast annually. 

North Korea also claims it has fully assembled its first nuclear-powered submarine, but it’s unclear when it will become operational.

PROBLEMATIC MUNCHON PROJECT

Photos in the state media report on Kim inspecting naval construction also clearly show the leader at a partially built facility north of Wonsan in Munchon, according to NK Pro analysis.

State media identified the site as belonging to Korean People’s Army (KPA) Navy Unit 291 when Kim first publicly visited in May 2013. 

Ten piers and jetties, multiple slipways and an extensive quay were built by 2017, and work finished on the large Koam-Tapchon bridge the following year to link the base with transportation networks. The work then mostly halted until restarting this year. 

Kim also visited in Sept. 2024, where he highlighted the “geopolitical advantages of [its] strategic location.” He said it should be built into a “modern port city” and that base facilities should be “capable of mooring warships and operating the systems of weapons on board.”

Planet Labs satellite imagery shows that military construction workers started dismantling some of the piers and slipways and extending the quay in late September. KCNA and KCTV photos showed the remnants of these piers. 

Soldiers have also built new roads around the site and a peninsula to the south, satellite imagery shows, indicating Kim has expanded the planned size of the base since his last visit.

The major dismantlement efforts show Kim has significantly changed his vision for naval capabilities over the years, following his initial haste in dedicating resources to the project early in his rule.

KCNA didn’t disclose Kim’s deadline for either of the two sites, saying only that he demanded they be completed “as early as possible” and “within the period set by the Party Central Committee.”

The Munchon base will likely be the first of the two to open since significant infrastructural work has already been completed. 

It could officially open next May, when Kim said he will “prove to the world” an “important plan for strengthening our naval forces.” This could have been referring to launching a new warship or submarine, which the leader likely will want to deploy to a proper home and not a temporary spot like the two destroyers built this year.

Notably, even though state media said in its Thongchon housing project report that Kim met and took group photos with “shock brigade” soldiers in charge of building homes, the photos themselves show this meeting took place at the Munchon naval base construction site. 

This suggests Kim’s primary concern during his activities on Wednesday was related to military matters, rather than improving civilian livelihoods. The state newspaper Rodong Sinmun gave more prominence to Kim’s civilian activities by placing the housing report on the front page before the naval report.

Meanwhile, NK Pro previously reported on large-scale construction starting in August on a large west coast island.

Similar to the Thongchon project, land reclamation and construction of roads and jetties on the island suggests it also may not be operational for years.

North Korea’s 5,000-ton destroyer that was reportedly deployed on the west coast in June remains moored at a civilian cargo port in Nampho.

Edited by Bryan Betts