World War TEE: Kim Jong-Un fires missile ‘from his GOLF COURSE
Kim Jong-un’s ‘most powerful’ missile was launched from his private golf course, photos suggest – and experts fear it could spell a big problem.
The new Hwasong-18 missile was fired last week from a launch site east of Pyongyang, according to Sam Lair of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
But it’s not a normal test site – it’s one of Kim’s mansions, with its own golf course – and the fairway itself may have been the launching pad.
North Korea expert Jacob Bogle identified the golf course when he created a comprehensive map of the country from satellite photos.
He thinks the location was chosen to send a message to the rest of the world.
Kim Jong-un’s ‘most powerful’ missile was launched from his private golf course, photos suggest – and experts fear it could mean a big problem
But it’s not a normal test site – it’s one of Kim’s mansions, with its own golf course – and the fairway itself may have been the launching pad. Pictured: Kim Jong Un with his 10-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae
He said: “The launch of the Hwasong-18 took place at a little-known mansion in the Samsok district of eastern Pyongyang, along a bend in the Taedong River.
“There isn’t much public information about this complex, but the mansion has a large banquet hall and has one of North Korea’s three well-known golf courses.
“They’ve launched from a wide variety of locations, such as airstrips, roads and beaches, and I suspect it’s to demonstrate their ability to launch from unexpected places and different terrains.”
“It’s actually a threat — ‘we can do this anywhere and if you attack our special ballistic missile bases, we can still drive to any golf course or anywhere and launch a nuclear bomb.”
He continued, “A country’s ability to launch from all terrains gives that country a more secure second strike capability and increases the survivability of their missile forces.
If the West destroyed North Korea’s known missile bases, Pyongyang could still have mobile launchers firing from airports, highways, beaches and even palaces. That makes tracking and targeting all the more difficult.’
Footage from last week’s missile test shows the mobile launcher driving to its destination on a small tarmac road lined with planted hedges.
It continues through fields of well-mown grass and over a small bridge, before arriving at a launch pad surrounded by five large ponds.
North Korea expert Jacob Bogle identified the golf course when he created a comprehensive map of the country from satellite photos
Mr Bogle said: ‘The launch of the Hwasong-18 took place at a little-known mansion in the Samsok district of eastern Pyongyang, along a bend in the Taedong River’
The test site could almost be a putting green with a series of water hazards on the perimeter.
However, whether it is actually part of the golf course remains unclear – the launch pad only recently appeared on satellite photos and the elevation there is lower than the rest of the fairway.
In any case, the location of the launch remains symbolic – Kim’s new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is the first to use solid fuel, making it faster and easier to launch.
Regime propaganda called the Hwasong-18 the country’s “most powerful, most important and most important means of defense.”
Mr Bogle said: ‘Solid fuel rockets are manufactured with their solid fuel already inside.
‘This allows them to be stored for extended periods of time in underground or hardened shelters and then rolled out, taken to numerous possible launch sites and launched with relative ease.
‘Liquid fuel rockets, on the other hand, take a lot longer because they have to be refueled before launch – which can take more than an hour. This makes them more susceptible to being located and destroyed.
“Their volatile liquid fuel also limits the type of terrain they can be safely transported over by mobile launchers.”
The mansion itself encompasses an estimated 12,000 square feet of space, bounded by an inner perimeter wall and an outer perimeter fence dotted with guard posts and foxholes.
The compound also includes a barracks for security forces and several other support buildings.
Footage from last week’s missile test shows the mobile launcher driving to its destination on a small asphalt road lined with planted hedges
The test site could almost be a putting green with a series of water hazards on the perimeter. Pictured: Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae at the mobile launcher