Detection of possible N. Korea missile attacks becomes harder

By Yi Whan-woo

North Korea is changing the locations for its ballistic missile tests to show the United States it can fire missiles anytime anywhere, analysts said Thursday.

North Korea has launched missiles from 20 different sites since 1984, making it harder for South Korea and the U.S. to detect possible missile strikes in advance.

South Korea seeks to build a three-pronged defense system by 2020, including the Kill Chain aimed at launching pre-emptive strikes on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile facilities if Seoul is under imminent threat.

The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, a nongovernmental organization aimed at curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, posted the locations of North Korean missile test sites on a map on a website run by the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

Among the 20 sites, there were five each in North Pyongan Province and Kangwon Province, four in South Pyongan Province, two in North Hwanghae Province and one each in Pyongyang, Chagang Province, North Hamgyong Province and South Hamgyong Province.

The rogue state carried out 115 tests, including the firing of a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile at a launch site near Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, Tuesday.

Kangwon Province has the most test sites. Twenty launches each were made in North Wonsan and at Kittaeryong Missile Base, 10 launches at Wonsan Kalma International Airport, two launches in Masikryong and one at Chihari Missile Base.

Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground in North Hamgyong Province had 17 launches, Hwangju in North Hwanghae Province had 12, Sinpo Shipyard in South Hamgyong Province had eight, Sohae Satellite Launching Station in North Pyongan Province had seven and Sunchon Airbase in South Pyongan Province had four.

Only one test took place in each of the other regions, such as Mupyong-ni Arms Plant in Chagang Province.